Speaker of Parliament and Former President Mohamed Nasheed has expressed his support to the proposed increment of the GST and TGST by the government.

During a Question & Answer session in Maradhoo, a resident had asked him to lobby against the proposed increase in the taxes. However, he noted that as the Speaker of Parliament, he was unable to do any such lobbying.

He further added that while a large sum of foreign debt needs to be repaid within the next two years, he completely supports the proposed increase.

Nasheed highlighted that being unable to make debt repayments on time and not having enough funds to manage it is riskier than an increasing total debt amount. If such a case occurs, he noted, the Maldives would go bankrupt and cause disruptions in trade ties with several countries.

He also added that in addition to the increase in taxes, selling shares on a partnership basis from State-Owned Enterprises can provide a good income to the state. He stressed that it was crucial to find the money to repay debts for the next two years, if not we are to experience a hard time.

The Bill on proposed amendments to GST and TGST was decided to be submitted to the Parliament on August 17th. The government announced the intention to increase GST from 6% to 8% and TGST from 12% to 16% last July.