City told to send parking fee hike plan to council
City told to send parking fee hike plan to council
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction at
the City Council demanded the administration immediately forward
its proposal to hike parking fees to the council, to prevent
prolonged and unnecessary public debate.
PDI Spokesman Lukman F. Mokoginta said yesterday the faction
thought the polemic in the media (about parking fees) should not
go on endlessly. "The executive should therefore immediately
forward the draft rule to the council for discussion," Lukman
said.
The faction called for the move at a council executives'
meeting which approved the city budget for 1997/1998. The budget
was Rp 3.23 trillion, an increase of 5.18 percent over the last
fiscal year.
The uproar over the planned new parking fees followed a leak
of the draft plan to the press. The draft is still under
discussion by officials from the parking agency, the land
transport and traffic control agency and other agencies.
Officials earlier said the main aim of the plan was to reduce
traffic jams caused by cars parked on streets.
Lukman said in a council meeting with executives yesterday the
reported plan to raise parking fees from Rp 300 to up to Rp 5,000
for the first hour was "exaggerated".
"The faction considers it wrong to increase city revenue by
hiking parking fees 1,666 percent over the old Rp 300 fee.
The PDI faction further said improving parking management
would be a better solution. Lukman said fees in practice reached
Rp 1,000 for the first hour, but only Rp 300 was paid to the city
in line with the 1979 parking fee rule.
Meanwhile the head of the Commission D for development
affairs, Bandjar Marpaung, said separately yesterday the plan to
hike fares should be supported, regardless of the proposed
amount, because motorists here had yet to show responsibility for
using and parking cars.
Bandjar further commented on a comment by Minister of Finance
Mar'ie Muhammad, who said Wednesday that parking management
should not be in the hands of the private sector.
"In Jakarta we still need private parking management..."
Bandjar said, because private parking managements, in search of
profits, were well organized compared to the city's agency.
In a discussion on a new draft law on taxes and fees at the
House of Representatives, Mar'ie had said one reason regional
governments lost revenue from parking was that the private sector
was involved.
Bandjar further said the city needed the private sector to
build parking lots, preferably multi-story ones, to reduce on-
street parking.
But he said the Governor had still not accepted any of the
private proposals to manage the city's parking management,
because they have all involved offering prizes to parking ticket
buyers.
"The proposals so far do not show how the parking problems
could be solved, and they involve gambling," he said.
Property tax
Property tax was also discussed at the meeting.
City revenue from the government, collected from taxes and
fees, was estimated at Rp 468.39 billion, with 93.85 percent from
property taxes.
The PDI faction said the increase was because of rising land
values and building components.
"Actually this is a burden for people," Lukman said, as poor
people with land in high-priced places would not be able to
afford the taxes.
"However...we ask that the land values (assessed by the
revenue agency) should not only be used to calculate land and
property tax. They should also be used to calculate land
compensation and the value of city assets which are to be
exchanged with third parties in barter agreements."
Each year the council receives complaints about land
compensation for appropriated land said to have been taken for
public projects.
The faction also demanded a thorough evaluation of fees, and
requested that fees burdening small income earners like cart-
pullers, should be annulled.
"This would increase a sense of justice and reduce the high
cost economy here." Lukman said. (anr)
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction at
the City Council demanded the administration immediately forward
its proposal to hike parking fees to the council, to prevent
prolonged and unnecessary public debate.
PDI Spokesman Lukman F. Mokoginta said yesterday the faction
thought the polemic in the media (about parking fees) should not
go on endlessly. "The executive should therefore immediately
forward the draft rule to the council for discussion," Lukman
said.
The faction called for the move at a council executives'
meeting which approved the city budget for 1997/1998. The budget
was Rp 3.23 trillion, an increase of 5.18 percent over the last
fiscal year.
The uproar over the planned new parking fees followed a leak
of the draft plan to the press. The draft is still under
discussion by officials from the parking agency, the land
transport and traffic control agency and other agencies.
Officials earlier said the main aim of the plan was to reduce
traffic jams caused by cars parked on streets.
Lukman said in a council meeting with executives yesterday the
reported plan to raise parking fees from Rp 300 to up to Rp 5,000
for the first hour was "exaggerated".
"The faction considers it wrong to increase city revenue by
hiking parking fees 1,666 percent over the old Rp 300 fee.
The PDI faction further said improving parking management
would be a better solution. Lukman said fees in practice reached
Rp 1,000 for the first hour, but only Rp 300 was paid to the city
in line with the 1979 parking fee rule.
Meanwhile the head of the Commission D for development
affairs, Bandjar Marpaung, said separately yesterday the plan to
hike fares should be supported, regardless of the proposed
amount, because motorists here had yet to show responsibility for
using and parking cars.
Bandjar further commented on a comment by Minister of Finance
Mar'ie Muhammad, who said Wednesday that parking management
should not be in the hands of the private sector.
"In Jakarta we still need private parking management..."
Bandjar said, because private parking managements, in search of
profits, were well organized compared to the city's agency.
In a discussion on a new draft law on taxes and fees at the
House of Representatives, Mar'ie had said one reason regional
governments lost revenue from parking was that the private sector
was involved.
Bandjar further said the city needed the private sector to
build parking lots, preferably multi-story ones, to reduce on-
street parking.
But he said the Governor had still not accepted any of the
private proposals to manage the city's parking management,
because they have all involved offering prizes to parking ticket
buyers.
"The proposals so far do not show how the parking problems
could be solved, and they involve gambling," he said.
Property tax
Property tax was also discussed at the meeting.
City revenue from the government, collected from taxes and
fees, was estimated at Rp 468.39 billion, with 93.85 percent from
property taxes.
The PDI faction said the increase was because of rising land
values and building components.
"Actually this is a burden for people," Lukman said, as poor
people with land in high-priced places would not be able to
afford the taxes.
"However...we ask that the land values (assessed by the
revenue agency) should not only be used to calculate land and
property tax. They should also be used to calculate land
compensation and the value of city assets which are to be
exchanged with third parties in barter agreements."
Each year the council receives complaints about land
compensation for appropriated land said to have been taken for
public projects.
The faction also demanded a thorough evaluation of fees, and
requested that fees burdening small income earners like cart-
pullers, should be annulled.
"This would increase a sense of justice and reduce the high
cost economy here." Lukman said. (anr)