Draft budget raised by Rp 70b

Draft budget raised by Rp 70b

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta's draft budget for the 1999/2000 fiscal
year was raised by Rp 70 billion (US$7.86 million) to Rp 2.82
trillion because of an increase in the estimated contributions of
fuel tax and the cancellation of a subsidy for the parking
agency, an official said on Wednesday.

The head of the city's development planning board, Bambang
Sungkono, said the revised figure might not be final because
there was one more meeting to discuss the draft budget next
Tuesday.

According to Bambang, the budget increase was decided on
Wednesday by a special team assigned to formulate the city's
draft budget. The team has held a series of discussions since
March 15.

"The team believed there were a number of sectors which could
contribute more to the city budget."

"The main sources of the draft budget's increase are the fuel
tax, which is estimated to reach some Rp 30 billion, and some
other taxes, as well as the cancellation of a subsidy for the
city parking agency," Bambang said.

According to Bambang, the parking agency would be urged to
increase its income so the administration would no longer have to
subsidize its operations.

In the original 1999/2000 draft budget, the administration
allocated some Rp 3.2 billion to subsidize the agency, whose
income was estimated to reach "only" Rp 7.8 billion with a total
expenditure of Rp 11 billion during the next fiscal year, which
begins on April 1.

However, the decision was criticized by city councilors, who
insisted the agency should become a source of revenue for the
city.

In the new draft budget, the city's routine expenditure is
increased to Rp 2.08 trillion from Rp 2.06 trillion, while its
development expenditure is Rp 731 billion, up from Rp 683
billion.

If the City Council approves the draft budget, the 1999/2000
budget would increase by more than 61 percent over the current
budget of Rp 1.75 trillion. (ind)