According to Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA), many have failed to present their income tax statements before the deadline.
As per the income tax law, the due date for the income tax statement of 2020 was 31st August 2021, and a large percentage of people have not presented their income tax statements before the deadline. Some of these individuals include people with multiple ways of generating income and people who were earning by renting their properties.
In accordance with the income tax law, if an individual has more than one income source they should create an income tax statement presenting their salary, business income, consultancy/technical service fee, commission, rent, money received as gifts, and income generated from the transactions made using the goods.
Individuals who fit into the income tax paying category will have to create the income tax statement of 2020 starting from 1st April 2020 as MIRA started collecting income tax from 1st April 2020 onwards. Additionally, the income tax statement has to be created excluding the exempt income.
Individuals who have received an income higher than MVR 2 million, or a taxable income higher than MVR 720,000 in 2020 have to present their income tax statements to MIRA according to the income tax law. However, if the income received to the individuals is only through one source they are not obligated to present the income tax statement.
In addition to this, if an individual receives income higher than MVR 2 million or the tax payable income is higher than MVR 500,000 via deemed partnerships in 2020, they are obligated to present an income tax statement. However, if an individual generates income through company partnership or corporative societies in 2020 they are obligated to present the income tax despite the income level.
MIRA has advised people who haven’t submitted the income tax to get help from MIRA if necessary and submit the income tax statements as soon as possible. To make the tax-paying process easier for the people, MIRA gives exception to certain tax fines and gives the option to pay fines on an instalment basis. Further information regarding income tax can be obtained through MIRA website for clarification.
