Government expenditure exceeds revenue by MVR 1.6 billion at the end of July 2013

Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has said that at the end of July 2013, government expenditure exceeded government revenue by MVR 1.6 billion.

MMA said in its Monthly Economic Review published yesterday, that at the end of July 2013, total revenue and grants received by the government was MVR 6.3 billion, while total expenditure stood at MVR 7.9 billion.

MMA said that at the end of July 2013, total revenue had increased by MVR 872.3 million or 16 percent when compared with the corresponding period in 2012.

MMA said that during this period in 2013, the highest collection was from tax, which was MVR 2 billion as Goods and Services Tax, MVR 1.1 billion as Business Profit Tax, and MVR 781.7 million as import duty.

Non-tax revenue went down by MVR 1.2 billion, a 17 percent decrease when compared with the corresponding period last year.

The highest drop in non-tax revenue, with a decline of 86 percent, was from revenue from state-owned enterprises.

MMA said that resort lease rent increased by 13 percent, while grants decreased by 32 percent during this period.

The major expenditure by the government as at the end of July 2013 was current expenditure, which at MVR 6.6 billion, accounted for an increase of 25 percent when compared with the corresponding period of 2012.

As part of the current expenditure, MVR 3.3 billion was spent on salaries and allowances, which is an increase of MVR 873.7 million or 35 percent.

The report also states that capital expenditure went down by 31 percent. Capital expenditure at the end of July 2013 was MVR 1.3 billion, which is a decrease of MVR 582.7 when compared with the corresponding period in 2012.