City wants more billboard tax

JAKARTA: Governor Sutiyoso said on Tuesday that if the City Council approved a new bylaw on outdoor advertising taxes, it could result in a 10 percent increase in tax revenue from billboards.

"The new regulation will enable us to secure Rp 110 billion (US$12.9 million) this year," he told the councillors during a plenary meeting to discuss the bylaw.

Last year, the administration received a total of Rp 100 billion in taxes from billboards, a 9 percent increase from Rp 91 billion in 2002.

Sutiyoso said that under the new bylaw, taxes would be based on the size and location of the outdoor advertisements.-- JP