Govt seeking to boost tax ratio to 17-20%<\/p>\n
Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Vice President Hamzah Haz said on Friday the country's tax ratio
\nmust reach between 17 percent and 20 percent to allow the state
\nbudget to allocate greater spending for economic development.<\/p>\n
He said that spending for development was very limited because
\nthe state budget was heavily burdened with the cost of bailing
\nout ailing banks.<\/p>\n
He said that the government was determined to boost the
\ncurrent low tax ratio level of around 13 percent by expanding the
\nnumber of taxpayers.<\/p>\n
\"We need to boost the tax ratio to 17-20 percent so that we
\ncan allocate more to accelerate economic development,\" Hamzah
\ntold reporters after submitting his tax forms at the Directorate
\nGeneral of Tax, but did not give a timeframe for when the target
\nmust be reached.<\/p>\n
A tax ratio is the ratio between a country's tax income and
\nits Gross Domestic Product (GDP).<\/p>\n
The tax office expects to reach 3.5 million taxpayers in 2002,
\ncompared to 1.9 million last year. Tax revenue this year is
\nexpected to reach Rp 184.7 trillion. (US$18.4 billion)<\/p>\n
By 2004, the government wants to see the number of taxpayers
\nrise to 9 million.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's tax ratio is among the lowest in Asia.<\/p>\n
Economists have said that raising the tax ratio target is
\ncommendable but they warned that the government should avoid
\nincreasing the tax rate amid the current economic difficulties.<\/p>\n
They also warned that boosting the number of taxpayers would
\ncreate massive paper work that could lead to a serious problem as
\nthe tax office lacks sufficient professional staff.<\/p>\n
Boosting incomes from tax payments has been high on the
\ngovernment's mind as it seems to have run out of sources to
\nfinance the state budget.<\/p>\n
With huge expenditures continuing to put pressure on the
\nbudget, the government is desperate to rake in as much as it can
\nget from the revenue side.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Director General of Tax Hadi Purnomo said Friday
\nthat, as of March 15, his office had collected tax revenue
\namounting to Rp 30 trillion.<\/p>\n
That amount is some 17 percent higher than the same time last
\nyear.<\/p>\n
For this year, the state budget hopes to raise a total of Rp
\n184.7 trillion in tax revenue, of which Rp 88.8 trillion is
\nexpected to come from non-oil and gas income tax revenue.<\/p>\n
As for last year, Hadi's office managed to slightly exceed the
\ntarget of Rp 156.6 trillion after posting a tax collection of Rp
\n158.3 trillion.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-seeking-to-boost-tax-ratio-to-17-20-1447893297",
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