Sejalan dengan paket kebijakan ekonomi yang baru-baru ini diumumkan, Menteri Keuangan Bambang Brodjonegoro mengatakan bahwa Pemerintah berencana untuk merevisi kebijakan pajak barang mewah untuk rumah. Saat ini, rumah-rumah bernilai lebih Rp 2 miliar dikenai pajak barang mewah 20%. Pemerintah kini berencana untuk menaikkan batasannya menjadi Rp 10 miliar. Pajak barang mewah Indonesia diperkenalkan oleh rejim Orde Baru Suharto dalam rangka membatasi kesenjangan sosial dalam masyarakat Indonesia.

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In line with expectation, the central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) decided to keep its key interest rate (BI rate) at 7.50 percent for a seven consecutive month in September’s Board of Governor’s meeting (17/09) as it aims to stabilize the rupiah amid global volatility caused by looming higher US interest rates and China’s hard landing (as well as yuan depreciation), while combating inflation which stood at 7.18 percent (y/y) in August. The overnight deposit facility rate and lending facility rate were left unchanged at 5.5 percent and 8 percent, respectively.

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Morgan Stanley Investment Management, a leading global investment firm, said it now considers Indonesia’s rupiah and Malaysia ringgit as the most attractive emerging-market currencies. Both currencies have been the worst-performing Asian currencies against the US dollar this year amid looming tighter monetary policy in the USA, low commodity prices and China’s economic slowdown (as well as a political scandal in Malaysia). The ringgit has depreciated 21 percent, while the rupiah has weakened 16.2 percent against the US dollar since the start of the year. Both currencies are touching 17-year lows.

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From 1 January 2015 to the first week of September, Indonesia only managed to collect IDR 103.7 trillion (approx. USD $7.2 billion) in excise and customs duties revenue, or 53 percent of the full-year target (IDR 195 trillion) set in the Revised 2015 State Budget. As such, it is highly unlikely that this year’s government target will be met. Heru Pambudi, Director General of the Finance Ministry's Directorate General of Customs and Excise, said it is more likely that 95 percent of the target will be achieved, adding that the bulk of revenue comes from tobacco excise, followed by alcoholic beverages.

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