City told to send parking fee hike plan to council<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction at
\nthe City Council demanded the administration immediately forward
\nits proposal to hike parking fees to the council, to prevent
\nprolonged and unnecessary public debate.<\/p>\n
PDI Spokesman Lukman F. Mokoginta said yesterday the faction
\nthought the polemic in the media (about parking fees) should not
\ngo on endlessly. \"The executive should therefore immediately
\nforward the draft rule to the council for discussion,\" Lukman
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The faction called for the move at a council executives'
\nmeeting which approved the city budget for 1997\/1998. The budget
\nwas Rp 3.23 trillion, an increase of 5.18 percent over the last
\nfiscal year.<\/p>\n
The uproar over the planned new parking fees followed a leak
\nof the draft plan to the press. The draft is still under
\ndiscussion by officials from the parking agency, the land
\ntransport and traffic control agency and other agencies.<\/p>\n
Officials earlier said the main aim of the plan was to reduce
\ntraffic jams caused by cars parked on streets.<\/p>\n
Lukman said in a council meeting with executives yesterday the
\nreported plan to raise parking fees from Rp 300 to up to Rp 5,000
\nfor the first hour was \"exaggerated\".<\/p>\n
\"The faction considers it wrong to increase city revenue by
\nhiking parking fees 1,666 percent over the old Rp 300 fee.<\/p>\n
The PDI faction further said improving parking management
\nwould be a better solution. Lukman said fees in practice reached
\nRp 1,000 for the first hour, but only Rp 300 was paid to the city
\nin line with the 1979 parking fee rule.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile the head of the Commission D for development
\naffairs, Bandjar Marpaung, said separately yesterday the plan to
\nhike fares should be supported, regardless of the proposed
\namount, because motorists here had yet to show responsibility for
\nusing and parking cars.<\/p>\n
Bandjar further commented on a comment by Minister of Finance
\nMar'ie Muhammad, who said Wednesday that parking management
\nshould not be in the hands of the private sector.<\/p>\n
\"In Jakarta we still need private parking management...\"
\nBandjar said, because private parking managements, in search of
\nprofits, were well organized compared to the city's agency.<\/p>\n
In a discussion on a new draft law on taxes and fees at the
\nHouse of Representatives, Mar'ie had said one reason regional
\ngovernments lost revenue from parking was that the private sector
\nwas involved.<\/p>\n
Bandjar further said the city needed the private sector to
\nbuild parking lots, preferably multi-story ones, to reduce on-
\nstreet parking.<\/p>\n
But he said the Governor had still not accepted any of the
\nprivate proposals to manage the city's parking management,
\nbecause they have all involved offering prizes to parking ticket
\nbuyers.<\/p>\n
\"The proposals so far do not show how the parking problems
\ncould be solved, and they involve gambling,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Property tax<\/p>\n
Property tax was also discussed at the meeting.<\/p>\n
City revenue from the government, collected from taxes and
\nfees, was estimated at Rp 468.39 billion, with 93.85 percent from
\nproperty taxes.<\/p>\n
The PDI faction said the increase was because of rising land
\nvalues and building components.<\/p>\n
\"Actually this is a burden for people,\" Lukman said, as poor
\npeople with land in high-priced places would not be able to
\nafford the taxes.<\/p>\n
\"However...we ask that the land values (assessed by the
\nrevenue agency) should not only be used to calculate land and
\nproperty tax. They should also be used to calculate land
\ncompensation and the value of city assets which are to be
\nexchanged with third parties in barter agreements.\"<\/p>\n
Each year the council receives complaints about land
\ncompensation for appropriated land said to have been taken for
\npublic projects.<\/p>\n
The faction also demanded a thorough evaluation of fees, and
\nrequested that fees burdening small income earners like cart-
\npullers, should be annulled.<\/p>\n
\"This would increase a sense of justice and reduce the high
\ncost economy here.\" Lukman said. (anr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/city-told-to-send-parking-fee-hike-plan-to-council-1447893297",
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