Did Mauritians consume less in 2020? Returns on Value Added Tax (VAT) in 2020 have fallen short of expectations. According to the Mauritius Revenue Authority, returns on VAT have decreased by Rs. 4.4 billion in 2020 compared to 2019.
In 2019, total taxes collected by the Mauritius Revenue Authority amounted to Rs. 93.7 billion. In 2020, only Rs. 89.3 billion in VAT have been collected by the Mauritius Revenue Authority.
The returns on Value Added Tax alone have fallen below Rs. 30 billion and reached Rs. 28.5 billion in 2020.
124,175 taxpayers have contributed to the tax-collection process. Among which, 40,643 earn between Rs. 501,000 and Rs. 750,000 and have contributed up to Rs. 1 billion in taxes. On the other end, 466 taxpayers earn more than Rs. 10 million and have contributed Rs. 1.6 billion in taxes.
For the Mauritius Revenue Authority, border closure equaled to Rs. 7.5 billion less in tax collection in Government coffers.
According to the MRA, the shortfall in tax-collection is mainly explained by the fall in tourist arrivals due to border closure. The impact of the pandemic on the Hospitality Sector can be measured in terms of the amount collected in taxes in 2020. While the Hospitality Sector normally generates approximately Rs. 7.3 billion in 2019, it produced only Rs. 1.1 billion in 2020.
