Jakarta (ANTARA) - Center for Indonesian Taxation Analysis (CITA)\nHead of Research Fajry Akbar has proposed that the government lower its\ntax revenue target while also streamlining spending, amid a continuing\nweakening of the business climate and public purchasing power.<\/p>\n
He argued that such a move is more realistic than continuing to push\nfor revenue optimisation when the tax base has not yet experienced\nsignificant improvement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you use ILO (International Labour Organization) data, the average\nincome of workers in Indonesia is the lowest in ASEAN. It is only\nnatural that the tax ratio is also one of the lowest in ASEAN,\u201d Fajry\nsaid when contacted in Jakarta on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Fajry assessed that an overly high tax revenue target could actually\nencourage excessive supervision practices towards taxpayers.<\/p>\n
According to him, economic growth in the first half of 2026 was\nlargely supported by government spending, so tax supervision should be\ndirected at sectors that directly benefit from that spending.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat drove the economy in the first half? Mostly government\nspending. Who enjoys government spending? SPPG entrepreneurs and those\nrelated to it. Those are the ones whose taxes should be pursued,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The statement was made amid the Directorate General of Taxes (DJP)\nexpanding its taxpayer compliance supervision pattern through Circular\nLetter (SE) Number SE-8\/PJ\/2026 concerning Guidelines for Taxpayer\nCompliance Supervision.<\/p>\n
In that regulation, the DJP is expanding the use of information\ntechnology and the coverage of regional databases down to the village\nlevel.<\/p>\n
In addition to direct visits, the DJP will now utilise remote sensing\ntechnology, web scraping, and build information networks by partnering\nwith Village Development Non-Commissioned Officers (Babinsa) and\nCommunity Security and Order Supervisors (Bhabinkamtibmas) to broaden\nthe tax database.<\/p>\n
Responding to this supervision method, Fajry noted that the DJP still\nhas to prove that the data obtained later comes from untapped tax\nrevenues. Otherwise, this new pattern risks causing disputes with\ntaxpayers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will certainly create new disputes, especially if the data\nquality is low or the tax officer has a different interpretation of the\ndata,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Fajry also commented on the involvement of Babinsa and\nBhabinkamtibmas in information gathering. In his view, the DJP needs to\nclarify what is meant by building information networks and its\nlimitations.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, this circular letter does not explain what is meant\nby building this information network, nor what its limits are. On one\nhand, this creates a militaristic impression in tax revenue collection,\nwhich should be a civilian domain. On the other hand, it raises concerns\namong MSME business actors in rural areas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In the first half of 2026, national tax revenue realisation reached\nRp1,035.7 trillion, or 43.9 percent of the 2026 state budget target.\nThis achievement grew by 24.6 percent compared to the same period the\nprevious year.<\/p>\n
Previously, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa estimated that tax\nrevenue realisation throughout 2026 would reach Rp2,310.8 trillion, or\naround 98.8 percent of the 2026 state budget target of Rp2,357.7\ntrillion.<\/p>\n
With this projection, tax revenue is expected to experience a\nshortfall of approximately Rp46.9 trillion from the initial state budget\ntarget. However, this shortfall value is much smaller compared to 2025,\nwhich reached around Rp271 trillion.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/analyst-proposes-indonesia-lower-tax-target-amid-economic-slowdown-1784371958", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }