Full Details! Content of Purbaya and S&P Discussion, Touching on Taxes and Budget Deficit
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has revealed the outcomes of a meeting between the Ministry of Finance and the rating agency Standard & Poor’s Global (S&P Global) in Washington DC, United States, last Tuesday (14 April 2026).
In the meeting, Purbaya explained that S&P Global inquired about Indonesia’s fiscal condition. They, according to Purbaya, wanted to confirm the Indonesian government’s commitment to maintaining the deficit below 3% of GDP.
“So I said we are consistent with that constraint; our president has directed that our deficit is kept below 3% of GDP,” Purbaya stated in an official video recording released by the Ministry of Finance on Thursday (16 April 2026).
Regarding the deficit, Purbaya also conveyed to S&P Global that the fiscal deficit for 2025 has been audited by the LKPP, with the result dropping to 2.8% from the previous 2.9%. According to Purbaya, S&P Global’s response to this was very positive.
“The important thing is that they also see our growth improving compared to the previous quarter and all indicators have improved; that might be the reason they confirmed to me yesterday that our rating outlook remains stable,” he explained.
S&P then asked about state revenues, including taxes and excises. Purbaya outlined that the Ministry of Finance can control future revenues. Purbaya shared the latest updates on improvements in tax and excise collection, organisational restructuring of customs, and taxes.
He assured S&P Global that the revenue issues are not in a highly dangerous condition. He reaffirmed the Ministry of Finance’s commitment to improving them going forward.
“It’s not yet at a stage that is highly dangerous, but we will fix it ahead in line with improvements in tax and excise collection because we have restructured the tax and customs organisations to improve their performance,” he stated.
Additionally, Purbaya informed S&P Global that tax revenue growth reached 30% by the end of Q1 2026.
Purbaya said S&P did not provide specific advice on fiscal matters. However, Purbaya noted that the agency discussed in more depth the ratio of debt interest payments to state income, which is above 15%.
“They discussed in more depth that the rating, interest payments, compared to income is above 15%,” he said.
“I said we will continue to monitor that and ensure the economic condition remains good and the fiscal will be maintained and not worsen from the payment side,” Purbaya added.
Regarding a rating indicating that Indonesia has high risk in the Asian region, Purbaya clarified that the assessment referred to a report provided the day before the meeting with S&P.