Maldives To Impose 'Green' Tourist Tax

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

10 September 2009

The President of the Maldives, Mohammed Nasheed announced on September 7 that the authorities are preparing a ‘green tax’ on tourists to fund plans to become the globe’s first carbon-neutral country by 2020.

According to Nasheed, the proposed measure will impose a USD3 tax on tourists per day, enough, he explained, to offset the carbon footprint of the 700,000 passengers that take long-haul flights to the location each year.

The 1,200 islands which comprise the Maldives generally sit just a few feet above sea level. Nasheed explained that, as the first place on earth that will be severely affected by global warming, the Maldives must swiftly put in place initiatives to stave off the melting of the icecaps which may engulf the islands by as early as 2100, as well as encouraging other countries to implement similarly ambitious goals.

At a press conference this week, Nasheed disclosed that the proposed green tax had been approved at government level, and that it would soon go before parliament.

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