The Maldives would impose a fee on plastic bags beginning in 2022, according to the government’s proposed budget for next year.
During the presentation of the state budget for 2022 in the People’s Majlis on Sunday, Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer announced that the government will impose a tax on plastic bags beginning in June 2022.
According to the finance ministry, an MVR 2 tax will be placed on customers for each plastic bag, regardless of size, beginning in June of next year.
The government will gain MVR 47.7 million in income from the plastic bag levy if it is implemented in the first quarter, according to the proposed budget. In addition, if the tax is applied in the second quarter, the government will earn MVR 35.5 million, MVR 23.5 million in the third quarter, and MVR 10 million in the fourth quarter.
The finance ministry presented an MVR 36.9 billion budget for 2022 on Sunday, an increase of around MVR 2 billion above the budget for 2021, with a nearly MVR 9.7 billion deficit.
