Aditya Suharmoko, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The government and the House of Representatives are set to solve stumbling blocks hampering the deliberation of the income tax bill by the end of this week, a ministry official says. Director General of Taxation Darmin Nasution said Thursday the impediments include the taxable income threshold, the dividend tax and the worldwide income tax. The draft income tax bill is expected to be implemented in 2009.

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Indonesia is good at attracting international trade with its relatively competitive tariff barriers, but our border controls and distribution channels create major obstacles, a report says. The Enabling Trade Index in the 2008 Global Trade Report published Wednesday by the World Economic Forum compares 118 countries' openness and international trade capabilities. Overall, Indonesia ranked 47th among the 118 countries.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has urged stakeholders of industrial zones to improve their services in order to enhance the country's competitiveness in the manufacturing sector. During the opening event of the Indonesian Industrial Zones Association's meeting Thursday, the President requested close cooperation between the association and the government in improving the business environment.