New land taxation needed<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Agrarian Affairs Soni Harsono
\nhas called for a new land tax system to stop speculation and the
\ndereliction of land.<\/p>\n
\"The current land taxation system tends to encourage
\nspeculation among buyers and owners because it is only based on
\nthe land's economic value,\" he said after addressing a national
\nministry meeting Sunday evening.<\/p>\n
He said the system taxed derelict land at a lower rate than
\nland which had been developed, he said.<\/p>\n
He said a new system was necessary to stop people from
\nneglecting land and accumulating derelict land.<\/p>\n
Many people wanted to buy land for speculation only, hoping to
\nsell it at a higher price later, he said.<\/p>\n
Such buyers had no intention of building houses or using the
\nland for economic activities, he said.<\/p>\n
\"As a result much of the land they buy is derelict,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Soni said his ministry had issued a new regulation banning
\ncompanies without land licenses from clearing land.<\/p>\n
But many land clearances were conducted on behalf of a
\ndirector or a shareholder of other companies which had the
\nlicenses, he said.<\/p>\n
He said that between 1993 and 1996 his ministry issued 9,264
\nlicenses for 6.2 million hectares of land, excluding industrial
\nestates.<\/p>\n
He said his ministry had issued 169 licenses for industrial
\nestates covering 53,000 hectares in 17 provinces. (bnt)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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