Jakarta (ANTARA) - Director of the Centre for Legal Studies and\nAdvocacy on Natural Resources (Pustaka Alam), Muhamad Zainal Arifin,\nbelieves that caution and further legal studies are needed in the plans\nof several local governments to impose a surface water tax (PAP) of\nRp1,700 per palm tree per month.<\/p>\n
Zainal, in his statement in Jakarta on Wednesday, said that an\nunderstanding of the definition of surface water tax is required.<\/p>\n
According to him, surface water legally refers to water sources such\nas rivers, lakes, reservoirs, swamps, or other water bodies that do not\ninfiltrate into the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cPalm trees only absorb rainwater or dew naturally through the soil,\nnot by sucking up surface water using pumps,\u201d said Zainal.<\/p>\n
The policy discourse, he continued, is deemed to lack a legal basis\nand could potentially violate Law No.\u00a01 of 2022 on Fiscal Relations\nbetween the Central Government and Regional Governments (UU HKPD) and\nGovernment Regulation No.\u00a035 of 2023 on General Provisions for Regional\nTaxes and Levies.<\/p>\n
Zainal explained that the UU HKPD clearly defines surface water tax\nas a tax on the extraction and\/or utilisation of surface water.<\/p>\n
In Article 1 number 52 of the UU HKPD, he mentioned, it defines\nsurface water tax as a tax on the extraction and\/or utilisation of\nsurface water. Meanwhile, in Article 30 of the UU HKPD, the tax base\nmust be calculated based on the volume of water extracted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis means the tax can only be imposed if there is an active action\nto extract water, for example, pumping water from a river, measuring it\nthrough a water meter, then channeling it for certain needs,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as there is no actual extraction of water from rivers or\nlakes, there is no object for surface water tax. Palm trees cannot be\nmeasured for how many cubic metres of surface water they use,\u201d he\nadded.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Zainal reminded of the tax law principle of nullum\ntributum sine lege, meaning there can be no tax without a statutory\nbasis.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe law never regulates taxes on the biological processes of plants.\nIf forced, this is not double taxation, but a levy without a legal\nfoundation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He also warned that additional regional levies could pressure the\ncompetitiveness of the national palm oil industry amid various\nregulatory pressures already faced by the sector.<\/p>\n
According to him, the PAP policy would be counterproductive to the\ngovernment\u2019s strategic agenda, including the mandatory B50 biodiesel\nprogramme that requires production cost efficiency.<\/p>\n
Zainal hopes that local governments in several palm-producing\nprovinces will immediately stop the planned implementation of PAP on\npalm trees and realign it with the UU HKPD and Government Regulation\nNo.\u00a035 of 2023, as well as corrective steps from the central\ngovernment.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/analyst-caution-needed-in-discourse-on-palm-surface-water-tax-1776232251", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }