Well tax to increase by 500%<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): While the controversy about the increase in
\nvehicle registration fees still rages, the city administration
\nrevealed on Thursday a plan to increase artesian well tax by 500
\npercent.<\/p>\n
Head of the City Mining Agency M. Ali Rozi said the
\nadministration had proposed a bylaw to the City Council to
\nincrease well tax fivefold, from the current Rp 2,500 (about US2
\ncents) to Rp 12,500 per well.<\/p>\n
"It is necessary to increase (the tax) to fund natural
\nconservation. The digging of the earth to make many wells damages
\nthe environment," Rozi announced at the council building.<\/p>\n
He said that with the increase in well tax, expected to be
\neffective soon, the agency aimed to secure Rp 30 billion from the
\ntax this year.<\/p>\n
Most residents in the city obtain water from artesian wells.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, chairwoman of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation
\n(YLKI) Indah Sukmaningsih regretted the plan to increase the well
\ntax.<\/p>\n
"It will burden the poor," she told The Jakarta Post on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
She urged the council to reject the proposal to increase the
\ntax, saying that people were still suffering due to the
\nincreasing prices of staple foods.<\/p>\n
"City officials just collect taxes from the public without
\nworking hard," Indah said. She urged them to instead push city-
\nowned firms to generate more revenue.<\/p>\n
The city administration expects to generate about 70 percent
\nof the Rp 7.1 trillion target of the 2001 city budget from taxes
\nand fees while the rest was expected to come from city-owned
\ncompanies.<\/p>\n
While more than 60 percent of the budget will be used to
\nfinance routine spending, the remaining 40 percent is for
\ndevelopment expenditure. (jun)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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