The Act specifies an administrative framework on taxation and administrative measures for implementing a tax system.

The Act establishes an independent legal entity known as the “Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA)”. MIRA’s mandate includes implementing laws and policies on taxation, and collecting all taxes payable to the State.
The policies of MIRA will be formulated by a board of directors, who must be appointed within 60 days of the establishment of MIRA. Also, a Tax Appeal Tribunal, which will adjudicate tax related cases submitted in accordance with this Act and other Taxation Acts, must be established within 90 days of ratification of the bill.

He said that climate change was a very real threat to humanity but that climate deniers were pursuing a ‘business as usual’ agenda.

“During the past few months after Copenhagen, there has been a number of stories circulating that have raised people’s scepticism,” said President Nasheed.
Stating that there were well established lobbying mechanisms in many developed countries against climate change, the President said “these lobbying mechanisms usually and very often can be very effective in turning around an issue and clouding the substance of an issue”.
In his speech, President also emphasised on the importance of taking bold measures to combat climate change.

He said the world can no longer afford to ignore the signs, and that already in the Maldives, people were experiencing the effects of climate change.

“We have more than 16 islands where people have to be relocated, our fresh water is been contaminated… our ocean temperatures are rising and therefore fish stock is dwindling,” said the President.

President Nasheed also took questions from the participants of the seminar which was organised by the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA).

The Dominican Republic is located in the Caribbean region on the island of Hispaniola, with Haiti located on the other half of the island. The country’s political system is a representative democracy with His Excellency Mr. Leonel Antonio Fernández Reyna, who was elected to office in 1996, as the President.

The Maldives and the Dominican Republic share many international platforms including the United Nations, and the World Trade Organisation. They also share many concerns of climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The Dominican Republic is the 155^th country to establish diplomatic relations with the Maldives.

Accompanying the President in the latter’s official visit to some European capitals, Foreign Minister Dr. Ahmed Shaheed stated that H E President Mohamed Nasheed made the announcement today during a press meet in the Finnish capital Helsinki.

“It is the Maldives’ turn to appoint a Secretary-General to the biggest regional organization in South Asia and the Government will very proudly nominate a capable woman candidate to next month’s SAARC Summit for endorsement”, said the Minister.

Continuing, Minister Shaheed elaborated, “The Maldives is committed to promoting women’s rights at home and abroad. Today the Majlis endorsed withdrawal reservation to CEDAW meaning women can hold high office. It is vital for the empowerment of women that they do so thereby creating positive role models. This is the spirit in which the government will nominate a woman Secretary-General”.

When endorsed the next SG will become the first woman to hold the office.

The visit follows an unprecedented spate of attacks on journalists, incidents of gangs breaking into media outlets and threatening officials whilst some journalists have been dealt in the streets.

President of the Maldives Journalist Association Ahmed Zahir, Vice President Ali Shamman and its Treasurer Midhath Adam are arriving in Colombo on March 21, to urge diplomats to apply pressure on the government to stop its media battering.

The rise in the number of attacks and its close frequency has almost created a fear psychosis amongst journalists.

So much so they are now “afraid to come forward to present news or to go out for reporting,” Ahmed Zahir who is also the Executive Editor of the Maldives Daily Haveeru told the Asian Tribune.

“They [diplomats] think the Maldives is a democratic country but the ground situation is not so,” Zahir said.

On Monday five DhiTV senior officials were attacked by a gang and hours later on the same day a Haveeru employee was stabbed.

On its 2 o’clock news DhiTV had reported that an alleged gang leader Ibrahim Nafiz (Chika) has been released to house arrest, prompting a gang to attack the DhiTV studio.

Zahir said that the Maldives Human Rights Commission in a report issued on March 9 said that the society’s level security is low due to criminals being released.

Without specifically referring to any criminals, Zahir said such moves endanger the entire society.

He said the Maldives’ media is still in its infancy and when such threats are there, it may not be good for the country’s budding democracy.

DhiTV and its sister station DhiFM have been harassed by the government on many occasions.

On March 8, a crew of the opposition-leaning private television station DhiTV was forced to leave a general meeting of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party held at the Lale International School in Hulhumale.

Reacting strongly to the MDP’s move, the MJA then told the ruling party that it should know “pluralism is the essence of democracy.”

Previously too, cops entered DhiTV studios and ordered that it stop the live coverage of an opposition DRP protest on January 28.

The government later said according to present media regulations such coverage amounted to inciting people into violence.

A price tag needs to be put on “the extent to which we destroy the atmosphere, the extent to which we pollute the atmosphere,” President Mohamed Nasheed said at a climate change seminar in Helsinki.

Climate change was not about “hugging trees”, he said, insisting that beyond the environmental aspects it was central to future security policies, sustainable economics and human rights.

“If we can have a discourse on the feasibility of renewable energy … I think that would make such a substantial impact on the policy,” he said, adding that switching to non-fossil-fuel-based energy sources like wind and solar power made “good economic sense”.

His own, low-lying country is one of the most vulnerable to the rising sea levels anticipated as a result of global warming, and in a bid to lead by example the Maldives has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2020.

A climate change summit in Copenhagen last December failed to yield a hoped-for treaty on tackling the carbon emissions blamed for disrupting the climate system, and sparked a fierce international row about who was to blame.

Nasheed said the time for “pointing fingers” was over, stressing that both developing and developed countries needed to act together to regain the momentum lost in the climate change debate since Copenhagen.

“Before we go to Mexico, there has to be more trust built between developing and developed countries,” he said, adding the climate change discussion had “no other motive than the survival of our species.”

There was “no argument” to support the demands of some developing countries for their emissions not to be limited, he said, adding that reducing emissions was economically responsible and would not stop development.

“We have planetary boundaries, and we cannot go beyond that. We have to find alternative sources of energy,” he insisted.

The so-called Copenhagen Accord sets a goal of limiting warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) but does not detail when or how this goal should be achieved, nor does it commit its signatories to binding pledges.

The next UN summit aimed at hashing out a binding deal will be held in the beach resort of Cancun, Mexico, from November 29 to December 10.

They were hidden with leaves under a tree. This area has been under suspicion for large scale drug dealings and from the area, the Police retrieved 273 cellophane, 80 rubber packets and materials used for the packaging of such illegal drugs. The Police also found two wooden chairs and a small table.

At present, no one has been brought into the custody of the Police in relation to the dealings of this area. The Drug Enforcement Department of Maldives Police Service and H.A. Hoarafushi Police Station are investigating the case.

The President travelled to Germany, Iceland, Switzerland and Finland.

During the visit, the President met with political leadership of all four countries, as well as industry leaders, investors and climate experts in those countries.

Missionary work in the Maldives cannot be ended by regulation alone, Islamic Minister has said speaking at a Meeting held by Adhaalathu Party to mark the anniversary of the Maldives conversion to Islam.

Speaking at the Meeting, Dr. Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari also said that today the missionary work is all over internet, telephone network and satellite TV.

“We can block a website, but they will create a new one. So basically, missionary work is not so easy to prevent” he said.

Citing an example, Dr. Bari also said that former government had spent lot of money to block Dhivehi Observer, a tabloid internet website leaning to the then opposition and demonizing then President Maumoon and his government. But he noted that all the money spent were on vain.

Minister said that the alternative is to raise awareness among the locals on Islam and that more efforts are needed to clarify the doubts created on Islam.

Speaking at the same meeting, Mariyam Jaleel, Deputy Leader of Women’s league of the party said that some parties are implying that missionary work in the Maldives is a recent trend, which she also noted is misleading. She also said that the missionary work had been in the Maldives for a many years and that missionaries had created libraries in the ships which had visited the Maldives and had invited Maldivians to attend many missionary activities onboard.