Civil Servant WFH Policy Extended as Government Unveils New Stimulus

JAKARTA — The government has officially prepared a series of fiscal stimulus and social assistance measures to maintain public purchasing power. The policy package includes flight ticket discounts, tax incentives for writers, and a national internship programme to counter job losses, effective from the second quarter of 2026 until year-end. The decisions were made during a limited coordination meeting chaired by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto in Jakarta on Tuesday (26 May 2026).

One key evaluation outcome was the success of civil servant WFH policies in reducing consumption of subsidized fuel, particularly Pertalite. Given its effectiveness, the government has decided to extend the WFH policy.

Additionally, new tax incentives for writers and literary workers have been introduced, with a final income tax (PPh) rate of 0.5% to 1.5%. Airlangga stated, ‘The second agenda was discussing facilities for the second semester, starting with tax incentives for writers. We have decided to provide a final income tax rate of 1.5% for writers.’

He added that the measures are part of President Prabowo Subianto’s campaign promises being implemented by the government.

The government is also rolling out transport stimulus to support public mobility during school holidays and the Christmas and New Year (Nataru) period. For land and public transport during school holidays, a budget of Rp 190 billion has been allocated, targeting 3 million beneficiaries. For Nataru, Rp 161.4 billion has been set aside.

‘The second measure concerns transport discounts and flight discounts during school holidays and Nataru,’ Airlangga said.

In the aviation sector, the government will again offer a 30% discount on economy class flight tickets under the Government-Borne Value-Added Tax (PPN DTP) scheme. ‘For air transport, a 30% discount with government-borne VAT will continue for economy class,’ he added.