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The upstream textile industry of Indonesia urges the Fiscal Policy Office (in Indonesian: Badan Kebijakan Fiskal, or BKF) to exempt local raw materials - supplied by local manufacturers - from VAT. Redma Gita Wirawasta, Secretary General of the Indonesian Synthetic Fiber Producers Association (APSyFI), said he has discussed this proposal during several recent meetings with the BKF.
Stakeholders in Indonesia's plastics industry are not happy to see the government eager to impose an excise tax on plastic bags in the proposed 2018 state budget. Fajar Budiyono, Secretary-General of the Indonesian Olefin, Aromatic and Plastic Industry Association (Inaplas), is against the excise tax saying it will not be a solution to environmental pollution. Instead, the government should focus on enhancing plastic waste treatment.
For several years stakeholders in Indonesia's automotive industry urged the government to cut taxes on sedan sales. Finally, the government seems willing to alter its policies. The sedan is categorized as a luxury good, implying it is subject to an additional 30-40 percent luxury goods tax. This makes the sedan vehicle more expensive compared to other car types and therefore there exists less demand for the Indonesian-made sedan, both on the domestic market and international market.
Leading American online social media and social networking service Facebook will open a permanent business entity (a foreign limited liability company, in Indonesian: perseroan terbatas penanaman modal asing, or PT PMA) in Indonesia later this month. The move is in line with Indonesian government requests. Earlier, Facebook only operated a representative office in Jakarta.
Indonesia's tax authorities are planning to revise the non-taxable income regulation again in an attempt to improve the nation's low tax ratio. Last year the government of Indonesia raised non-taxable income by 50 percent from IDR 36 million (approx. USD $2,700) to IDR 54 million (approx. USD $4,060), per year, in a bid to strengthen people's purchasing power and encourage household consumption. However, considering local minimum wages vary across the country's 34 provinces, the nation-wide non-taxable income level of IDR 54 million causes some problems.
In its "war on tax evasion" Indonesia scored another victory by reaching an agreement ("Bilateral Competent Authority Agreement") with Hong Kong to share data of Indonesian taxpayers who hold accounts in the Asian wealth management hub. Indonesia's Tax Office assumes (or better: knows) there are plenty of wealthy Indonesians who take advantage of the low tax regime in Hong Kong and deliberately do not report these funds to Indonesian authorities.
According to Ken Dwijugiasteadi, Taxation Director General at Indonesia's Finance Ministry, a tax-to-GDP ratio at 11 percent would be realistic for Indonesia's 2018 state budget (but would still require big efforts from the government). In a plenary session of Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) earlier this week, regarding the 2018 state budget proposals, some called for a sharp increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio to 13 percent. However, considering the expected tax revenue growth, this ratio would be highly unrealistic.
The economies of Indonesia and other countries in Southeast Asia may feel the impact of US President Donald Trump's impending tax reforms. Currently markets are focused on these reforms. On Wednesday (26/04) Trump is set to propose steep cuts in US corporate taxes (from 35 percent to 15 percent) and the tax rate on offshore earnings that are repatriated (from 35 percent to 10 percent), while individual taxes will be simplified. These proposals will require US Congress approval before implementation.
After the ending of Indonesia's tax amnesty program, property players in Southeast Asia's largest economy remain optimistic that inflows of fresh funds - originating from the tax amnesty program - will give a boost to Indonesian property sector in the second half of 2017. This should then cause some momentum, meaning property developers dare to kick-start new projects. Considering weak demand for property in Indonesia over the past couple of years, many local property developers have been postponing projects.
There is concern about Indonesia's tax buoyancy. Tax buoyancy is the indicator that measures efficiency and responsiveness of revenue mobilization in response to growth in gross domestic product (GDP) or national income. While, Indonesia's GDP accelerated 5.02 percent (y/y) in 2016, the country's tax revenue realization only rose 4.2 percent (y/y) to IDR 1,104.9 trillion (approx. USD $83.1 billion). Since 2011 (when commodity prices plunged heavily) tax buoyancy has been weakening in Indonesia.
Latest Columns Tax
Although realization of most components in Indonesia's state budget have improved in 2017, tax revenue realization and the management of energy subsidies remain the two big challenges for the Indonesian government. Southeast Asia's largest economy again failed to meet its tax revenue target last year. Per 31 December 2017 it collected IDR 1,151.5 trillion (approx. USD $85.3 billion) in tax revenue, only 89.74 percent of the target (excluding customs and excise).
Indonesia may see a IDR 120 trillion (approx. USD $8.8 billion) tax shortfall in 2017. The Indonesian government set a IDR 1,472.7 trillion (approx. USD $109 billion) tax revenue target (including customs and duties) in full-year 2017. However, up to 15 December only IDR 1,211.5 trillion has been collected. Traditionally Indonesia delivers a tax shortfall at the end of the year. This is expected to continue in 2018.
Every year Indonesia's Tax Office adjusts the excise tax on tobacco products. The adjustment is always made in consideration of the central government's tax revenue targets as well as the input of specific stakeholders (including pro-health lobby groups, or groups that defend the interests of tobacco manufacturers or farmers).
Although the amount remains a secret, the government of Indonesia and Alphabet's Google finally managed to reach an agreement on the tax settlement after a long dispute that started in mid-2016. The news was confirmed by Indonesian Finance Ministry Sri Mulyani Indrawati. The dispute started because Indonesian authorities felt the so-called "over-the-top content" giants, referring to those companies that deliver content through Internet, deliberately did not set up permanent establishments in Indonesia in order to avoid taxes. Besides Google, other examples are Yahoo, Facebook and Twitter.
The government of Indonesia listened to the criticism that emerged after it decided to set a rather low threshold for bank accounts that are to become subject to the automatic bank information exchange program. Through Finance Ministry regulation PMK No. 70/PMK.03/2017 Indonesia's tax authorities obtain access to information on accounts held at financial institutions, including bank accounts. This new regulation makes it possible to check whether tax payers indeed fulfill their tax obligations.
There exists some resistance against the Indonesian government's recently announced regulation that gives tax authorities access to information on accounts held at financial institutions, including bank accounts. The regulation aims to contribute to a more transparent financial system as well as to boost the government's tax revenue realization (tax evaders will need to be more careful now authorities can monitor private and corporate bank accounts).
Indonesia's Tax Office now has more power to check whether people and companies indeed pay taxes. Last week the Indonesian government basically scrapped the existence of banking data secrecy by introducing a new regulation that gives the nation's tax authorities access to information on accounts held at financial institutions, including bank accounts. The new regulation should contribute to a more transparent financial system and boost the government's (much-need) tax revenue realization. However, Indonesian parliament still needs to approve the new regulation.
Indonesia's tax amnesty program ended on 31 March 2017, so now it is time to take a look at the results. Although Indonesia's amnesty program has been labelled as one of the most - if not the most - successful amnesty programs ever around the globe (in terms of asset declarations), there is plenty of room for disappointment. Based on data from Indonesia's Tax Office, less than one million Indonesians joined the program. For many nations this would be a great number. For Indonesia this number means tax evasion remains rampant, implying the government misses out on much-needed tax revenue.
Indonesia's tax amnesty program will end soon. The nine-month program was designed to finish on 31 March 2017. Although the program has become the world's most successful tax amnesty program, it will fail to solve Indonesia's tax revenue collection problems. And with tax revenue being the largest source for public spending capacity, low tax compliance in Southeast Asia's largest economy obstructs more rapid development of the Indonesian economy.
Indonesia's budget deficit in 2016 is estimated to have reached 2.46 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP), below the government's forecast of 2.7 percent of GDP and at a safe distance from the legal cap of 3.0 percent of GDP that is stipulated by Indonesian law. This is a positive matter that is supported by modestly growing tax revenue. In full-year 2016 tax revenue realization reached IDR 1,105.2 trillion (approx. USD $83 billion), only 81.6 percent of the target that was set in the Revised 2016 State Budget (APBN-P 2016) but slightly higher than tax revenue realization in the preceding year.
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