Consumer group hails progressive car taxation
Consumer group hails progressive car taxation
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation has hailed the city administration's decision to implement a progressive car taxation system as of next month.
"It will be fairer because the rich will have to pay more for their cars than the poor," Zaim Said, an executive of the foundation, said yesterday.
However, Zaim urged city administration to set up a special system to prevent people from breaking the law because they always try to find loopholes in the regulation.
"It is a good thing that the regulation stipulates cars be based on the names and addresses of owners. But you have to know that many people, especially the rich, have many houses," Zaim said.
He added that the authorities, city administration or police should think about this possibility and form a special procedure to prevent this from happening.
Head of City Revenue Office Wahab Rachmatsjah said on Thursday that the Jakarta municipality regulation on the progressive car taxation system has been approve by the Minister of Home Affairs and will be enforced beginning next month.
The regulation, approved by city council last July, is designed to increase the city's revenue and to slow the growth in the number of private cars, by promoting the use of public buses instead.
The regulation requires motorists to pay 120 percent of the effective car tax rate for a second car. The tax rises to 140 percent for the third car, 160 percent for the fourth, 180 percent for the fifth and 200 percent for the sixth and subsequent cars.
Zaim also urged the city administration to use the new regulation as a way to not only increase its revenue but to solve the traffic and air pollution problem as well.
"As an effort to solve the nagging traffic problems, city administration should improve the quality of public transportation," Zaim said. Because, he added, if the city administration fails to provide better public transportation, people will feel that the tax will only be a burden.
Zaim said people are forced to use private cars even though they are not rich because they need a safe and comfortable means of transportation.
Zulaikha, a woman who owns three cars, said that basically she agreed with the new tax regulation but city administration should consider the reason why a family needs more than one car.
"My husband and I are working and we both need a car. My children also need one," she said.
Zulaikha said she does not feel comfortable boarding public buses because most of them are dirty.
"This is exactly what I mean. People will start using public transportation as soon as the government provides better public transportation," Zaim said. (yns)