Chapter 4 | Page 179 Despite increasing revenue generation over time, Maldives is currently spending beyond its means and financing the budget risks affecting the real economy.181 The gap between revenue and expenditure has been widening substantially over recent years.182 This has created an enormous debt burden that could negatively impact the ability of the government to sustain future spending in key areas of ESC rights. 4.4.2.2 Deficit financing and debt sustainability The Government of Maldives follows an expansionary fiscal policy with total expenditure increasing by 20.6 percent in 2014 from 3.5 percent growth in 2013. The overall budget deficit has widened to 11.6 percent of GDP in 2014.183 The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA)184 reported that, although total tax revenue collection in 2013 exceeded the expected value, non-tax revenue was lower than anticipated, thereby offsetting the increased tax revenue.185 The debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to deteriorate further to about 96 percent by 2015 unless strong measures are taken to bring the fiscal and debt situation, which has created problems with regard to future borrowing, back to sustainable levels.186 The World Bank notes that government spending is unsustainably high relative to available fiscal resources and that the country is already at high risk of debt distress.187 In the face of inadequate revenue generation, the Maldives government adopted three main approaches to deficit financing: short-term commercial borrowing from banks and the private sector; monetisation of the deficit; and 181 The World Bank, Maldives Development Update 2013 (The World Bank, Washington, D.C., 2013), <http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer /WDSP/IB/2013/12/06/000356161_20131206154350/Rendered/PDF/829560REVISED00ri ef020130Dec0final.pdf>. 182 For example, in 2013, the total expenditures of the government were above 42 percent of the GDP, while the total revenue collection stayed at just 32.8 percent. 183 Asian Development Bank, Asian Development Outlook 2015: Financing Asia’s Future Growth (ADB, Manila, 2015), <http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication /154508/ado-2015.pdf>. 184 The MMA is the Central Bank of Maldives. 185 Maldives Monetary Authority, above n 176, 20. 186 The World Bank, above n 181, 4. 187 The World Bank, above n 73, 2.