Forestry ministry to join campaign to remove levies<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo
\naffirmed yesterday that his office would join in the government's
\ndrive to remove excessive levies imposed on businesses.<\/p>\n
Djamaludin said his office was currently making a list of such
\nlevies, both on local and national levels, to determine which
\nwere unnecessary and thus could be eliminated.<\/p>\n
He did not give details as to when his office would finish its
\ninventory process.<\/p>\n
"Presently forest concessionaires are subject to only three
\nmandatory fees-- reforestation funds, forest royalties and
\nconcession fees. We will see what other fees exist and whether
\nthey are necessary or not," he said.<\/p>\n
Reforestation funds and forest royalties are aimed at ensuring
\nthat forests are managed in an environmentally-sound manner.
\nTheir amounts depend on the species and volume of timber felled.
\nA concession fee is determined by the area in hectares managed by
\na forest concessionaire.<\/p>\n
Djamaludin agreed that many fees which burden forest-based
\nbusinesses, especially at the local level, could actually be
\neliminated.<\/p>\n
Djamaludin's pledge to remove these fees came as a response to
\nPresident Soeharto's recent call on local administrations to
\nrevoke all regulations on levies which created market distortions
\nand hampered economic growth.<\/p>\n
Soeharto said that if necessary, a presidential decree to
\neliminate such levies would be issued.<\/p>\n
Businesses in forest-based industries have been complaining of
\nexcessive levies, especially at the local level, imposed on their
\ntimber.<\/p>\n
Aside from levies on the timber itself, forest concessionaires
\nhave to pay other fees related to regulatory paperwork. To obtain
\ngovernment approval for an annual logging plan, for example,
\nconcessionaires have to conduct various social programs and pay a
\nnumber of locally-imposed fees.<\/p>\n
These fees are often not directly related to forestry, but are
\nimposed by local administrations as a means of collecting funds
\nfor local development projects, such as infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n
Businesses have been increasingly critical of the levies --
\nboth legal and illegal -- which are imposed by various ministries
\nand local administrations across the country.<\/p>\n
Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief recently took the lead in
\nthe government's campaign against levies by pledging to cut back
\n37 kinds of fees currently imposed within the manpower
\nadministration.<\/p>\n
The manpower ministry's survey of companies in various
\nprovinces recently showed that legal and illegal fees --
\nincluding bribes -- accounted for 20 to 30 percent of companies'
\nproduction costs.<\/p>\n
Business analysts estimate that the levies make up 30 to 40
\npercent of production costs. (pwn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/forestry-ministry-to-join-campaign-to-remove-levies-1447893297",
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