Fitch Outlook Turns Negative, Airlangga Urges Coretax to Boost Tax Ratio

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The government will accelerate the strengthening of the tax system through the implementation of the DJP Coretax to raise the national tax-to-GDP ratio. This step is described as one of the responses to Fitch Ratings’ notes, which downgraded Indonesia’s debt rating outlook to negative. Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said the government would monitor Fitch’s notes, particularly those related to the government’s revenue-raising capacity. ‘We will continue to oversee the DJP Coretax so that our tax ratio can be improved,’ Airlangga said in Jakarta on Thursday, 5 March 2026. Airlangga said the Coretax implementation is expected to improve tax data management as well as increase taxpayer compliance, so that the tax-to-GDP ratio can rise in the coming years. Although Indonesia’s outlook was revised to negative, Fitch still maintained Indonesia’s debt rating at BBB, within the investment-grade category. ‘What matters is that Indonesia remains investment grade. Going forward we will study the warnings Fitch has issued,’ he said. In its latest report, Fitch said the revision of the outlook from stable to negative was driven by rising policy uncertainty that could affect Indonesia’s medium-term fiscal prospects. The rating agency also highlighted Indonesia’s relatively low government revenue ratio compared with peers with similar ratings. Fitch projects government revenue to be around 13.3 percent of GDP in 2026–2027, well below the BBB peers’ median of around 25.5 percent. Beyond fiscal factors, Airlangga noted the global economy is also affected by rising geopolitical tensions in various regions. ‘The global economy is affected not only by Fitch but also by wars,’ he said.