Sameer retweetledi
The proposed amendment to the SEZ bill will be very dentrimental to the tourism industry and will have a huge loss of potential revenue to the state as it introduces tax breaks for selected projects in the highly lucrative tourism sector. The project which has been classified as a ‘Sustainable Township’ by President Muizzu was secured in December 2022 during MDP gov as a normal toursim project without the promise of any concessions. The decision to suddenly grant unfair concessions only for a specific project brings into question the Government’s intentions. Tourism development in Noonu Atoll DOES NOT need tax incentives to attract investors.
Additionally it is worth noting that the 4% property transfer tax was intended to be applied for all tourism real estate sales via the amendment to the Tourism Act presented to Majlis on 19th June 2023 which was later withdrawn by the current gov in November 2023. The Govt's nefarious intentions are laid bare by their proposal to implement this for only selected projects rather than letting the entire sector benefit from this.
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