Green Tax Will Make Maldives Holidays More Expensive In 2015

04 Nov 2014: Tourism Minister has today announced that the government plans to introduce Green Tax in 2015. The income has also been included in the proposed government budget. The minister did not say tell amount of tax and said he will discuss with industry partners before implementing the new tax. Immediate public reaction on the media appears negative.



Green Tax will be paid only by tourists.

Starting November 2014 the Goods & Services Tax (GST) is 12%, prior to this period it was at 8% with an additional USD8 per head as Bed Tax. With increased GST the Bed Tax is no longer collected. If Green Tax gets introduced tourists will have to pay 12% GST and additional Green Tax.

Aim of this new tax is unclear at this point. Having it coincided with annual budget submission the main aim seems generating income to the government. At this point you may question what does it then have to do with "green" principles? Is it just a name or will it be for the benefit of environment? Perhaps to off set your carbons?

With no confirmed information from the government we could only imagine the possibilities of this new tax. Couple of dollars per head per night may not be too much burden if that goes to a climate fund. Government could use this fund to plant to trees to offset carbon. Having many uninhabited islands in the Maldives it could be of immense benefit for both the environment and tourism in the future. Many uninhabited islands do not have palm trees and are full of useless bush. That could be replace with palm trees and other useful plants for the nature. The trees will help offset carbon while helping the locals with economic return by selling coconut, flowers or other plants good for eco-system. Years later when the government needs these islands for resort development there would be many palm trees already grown.

The Green Tax funds could also be utilized for protection of reefs. The fishermen throwing their anchor at the reef has a devastating effect over the generation. Every single time they break some corals and collectively from all fishermen the damage becomes grave. Permanent anchor lines need to place at every island and at different points, so that fisherman would not have to throw the anchor.



Still a lot of people are overpaying for Maldives holiday
Lux Maldives reinforces local support for coral reefs conservation
Is water a living creature? This discovery is mind blowing