Car owners shocked by tax increase<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration announced vehicle taxes
\nwould increase by up to 22 percent, so vehicles owners were
\nshocked when they realized the increase was really over 100
\npercent.<\/p>\n
"It's not true that the increase is only 22 percent. The
\nreality is that it is 100 percent," one vehicle owner, Diah, said
\nat the Vehicle Document Service (Samsat) office on Jl. D.I.
\nPanjaitan in East Jakarta on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
She said last year she paid a vehicle tax of Rp 105,000
\n(US$9.50) for her 1975 Toyota Corolla, while this year she had to
\npay Rp 210,000 for the same vehicle.<\/p>\n
She was left wondering why the vehicle tax on her old car was
\nso high, claiming the employees at the office did not offer her
\nan explanation for the increase.<\/p>\n
"The increase is for the officials (in the government) and we
\nhave to bear it," Diah said.<\/p>\n
Like other offices offering public services, the Samsat office
\nwas crowded with middlemen, known as calo, offering their
\nservices to car owners in processing their vehicle documents.<\/p>\n
One of the brokers, Yudi, said many vehicles owners were
\nshocked when they realized their vehicle tax had doubled, but
\nsaid they had no alternative but pay the price.<\/p>\n
"I don't know anything about the tax increase. It just came
\nout from the computer at the tax office," Yudi, who also works as
\na parking attendant at the office, said.<\/p>\n
Giving an example, he said the vehicle tax for a 2000 Kijang
\nvan was Rp 400,000 last year, and this year the tax was Rp
\n800,000.<\/p>\n
He also said the vehicle tax for motorcycles had increased by
\n80 percent, saying if the owners paid Rp 20,000 last year this
\nyear they had to pay Rp 35,000.<\/p>\n
Circulars announcing the tax increase were placed in the
\nwindows of the office, but were removed when the tax increase
\nbecame controversial, he said.<\/p>\n
"The announcements have been removed. Officials said they
\nwould be corrected," Yudi said.<\/p>\n
Yudi said he and other brokers normally charged vehicle owners
\na service fee of Rp 30,000 for cars and Rp 20,000 for
\nmotorcycles.<\/p>\n
"The document can be completed in one hour. I promise," Yudi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Separately, the head of the city's revenue agency, Deden
\nSupriadi, acknowledged that the tax increase could reach up to
\n100 percent due to the change in the government's fiscal year.
\nPreviously the fiscal year ran from April to March, but starting
\nlast year this was changed so the fiscal year matched the January
\nto December calender year.<\/p>\n
Therefore, vehicle owners are paying a double increase for
\nthis year's tax payment, he said. They must pay the increase for
\nthe 2000 budget year, which ran from April to December, as well
\nas the tax increase introduced in April this year.<\/p>\n
"That is why it seems the increase is 100 percent. Yes, it's
\n100 percent if it is compared with the tax two years ago," he
\nsaid on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
But he maintained that the current vehicles tax increase
\naveraged between 0.34 percent and 22.4 percent, compared with the
\nvehicle tax in the 2000 budget year.<\/p>\n
The government also changed the base in calculating the tax.
\nNow the tax is based on the selling price of a vehicle, where it
\nwas previously calculated based on engine capacity. This means
\nthe more expensive the car, the higher the vehicle tax.<\/p>\n
In addition to the selling price of vehicles, which the city
\nadministration will recalculate annually, the vehicle tax is also
\nbased on several other factors, called weighting factors,
\nincluding the age of the vehicles. The older the vehicle, the
\nhigher the weighting factor.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso, meanwhile, said on Wednesday that
\nhe would review the vehicle tax increase since it had become a
\nsource of controversy among the people.<\/p>\n
"I have established a team to review the vehicle tax
\nincrease," Sutiyoso was quoted by SCTV television station as
\nsaying during a governors' meeting in Ancol, North Jakarta. He
\ndid not give any further details.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Jakarta Residents Forum, Azas
\nTigor Naiggolan, urged the city administration to suspend the
\nvehicle tax increase.<\/p>\n
"The increase should be suspended. The administration should
\nprovide an explanation as to why they increased the tax," Tigor
\nsaid. (jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/car-owners-shocked-by-tax-increase-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}