Batam Mayor Attends 2026 Rural and Urban Land and Building Tax Awareness Month, Emphasises Role of Local Taxes in Development

Batam Mayor Amsakar Achmad attended the city’s Rural and Urban Land and Building Tax (PBB-P2) Awareness Month event, held at the Planet Holiday Hotel in Batam on Tuesday, 21 April 2026. Amsakar described the event as a momentum to raise public awareness of the importance of local taxes as a pillar of Batam city’s development. According to him, the PBB-P2 Awareness Month serves as an exemplary initiative to build a culture of tax compliance. “This agenda is important as a tangible contribution to regional development. The government wants to set an example and lead by example for all Batam residents to become more compliant with their tax obligations,” Amsakar stated. He explained that PBB-P2 is one of the main contributors to Original Local Revenue (PAD), along with Acquisition Duty on Rights over Land and Buildings (BPHTB) and street lighting tax. In his view, optimising local tax revenues greatly determines the direction of Batam’s development, from infrastructure construction and improvements in public services to the implementation of priority local government programmes. Furthermore, he mentioned that a strong PAD contribution also drives local fiscal independence. “Batam is one of nine cities in Indonesia with a good level of fiscal independence. PAD contributions have exceeded 50 percent of the regional budget. This is an achievement that we must continue to maintain,” he said. He added that this achievement demonstrates Batam’s healthy fiscal condition, supported by the compliance levels of the community and businesses in fulfilling their tax obligations. On that occasion, the Batam City Government awarded sub-districts with the best PBB-P2 payment compliance rates. The awards went to Belian Sub-district with 37,451 taxpayers and a 66% compliance rate, Tanjung Riau Sub-district with 21,388 taxpayers and a 78% compliance rate, and Tembesi Sub-district with 19,502 taxpayers and a 73% compliance rate.