Bambang Brodjonegoro, Indonesian Finance Minister, announced on Wednesday (27/05) that the Indonesian government may raise the income threshold - which separates individuals’ income that is taxable from non-taxable income - by almost 50 percent. Although this move would imply less tax revenue for the government, it would strengthen the purchasing power of the less fortunate Indonesians and can somewhat boost economic activity in an economy that has been plagued by slowing economic growth since 2011.

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In order to improve the country's trade balance (particularly to curb the large current account deficit), the government of Indonesia will raise income tax on imported products through the issuance of a new ministerial regulation (issued by the Finance Ministry). Currently, there are two income tax tariffs on imported goods (see below). According to Finance Minister Chatib Basri, goods that will fall under the new regulation are consumption goods (except for food products). The new income tax tariff is expected to be implemented next week.

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Real Estate Indonesia (REI) advises the Indonesian government to open up the country's property sector to foreign ownership as this is considered to benefit the Indonesian economy through the collection of taxes and foreign exchange earnings. According to Teguh Kinarto, vice-chairman of the REI's Central Board, the state can gain a lot of revenues through taxes, such as the property tax of 10%, luxury tax of 20%, as well as various other taxes. Currently, foreigners can only buy the right to use property in Indonesia, not the right to own.

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More changes to Indonesia's tax system are in the pipeline. Today (11/04), Indonesia's Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said Southeast Asia's largest economy plans to cut the corporate income tax rate to 20 percent this year (from 25 percent currently). According to Brodjonegoro a 20 percent corporate tax rate is more competitive and will attract investment. Indonesia's finance minister expressed this plan in a meeting with the nation's parliamentary commission overseeing taxes (an income tax rate cut requires parliamentary approval).

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Good news for taxpayers in Indonesia. The Indonesian government plans to lower personal income tax, which currently ranges between 5 and 30 percent, in early 2016. Indonesian Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said lower personal income tax will make it easier for taxpayers to comply with the tax law, while giving a boost to Indonesians' purchasing power. However, he declined to inform to what extent personal income tax will be cut as this is still being studied.

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The current account deficit of Indonesia is expected to ease further in the first quarter of 2014 due to a possible slowdown of imports according to Deputy Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro. This slowdown is estimated to be caused by the implementation of Indonesia's higher income tax on the import of durable consumer goods, effective from January 2014. However, the deficit will not ease markedly from the USD $4 billion deficit (equivalent to 1.98 percent of the country's gross domestic product) recorded in the fourth quarter of 2013.

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