Good News for Workers! Government to Cover PPh 21 Tax, Leading to Higher Net Salaries

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com — The government, through the Directorate General of Taxes (DJP) of the Ministry of Finance, has raised the budget ceiling for the Income Tax (PPh) Article 21 borne by the government (DTP) incentive for the year 2026.

This policy is aimed at preserving public purchasing power, especially for workers in labour-intensive sectors that are vulnerable to economic dynamics.

Director of Dissemination, Services, and Public Relations at DJP, Inge Diana Rismawanti, stated that the incentive budget for next year will increase to nearly Rp 500 billion.

“We have a budget of almost Rp 400 billion that was not fully utilised. So, not 100 percent used. Finally, because many have requested it, we are implementing it again for 2026 with the budget becoming nearly Rp 500 billion,” said Inge, quoted on Friday (17/4/2026).

This increase in the budget allocation is part of the government’s strategy to keep household consumption stable.

In the current global economic conditions full of uncertainties, public purchasing power is one of the main pillars of domestic economic growth.

Thus, workers will receive additional income that was previously allocated for tax payments.

This scheme simply means that the salaries received by workers will be larger because the tax deductions are covered by the government.

The additional income is expected to enhance the public’s spending capacity.

The PPh 21 DTP incentive is focused on sectors with labour-intensive characteristics, such as the textile and clothing industry, footwear, furniture, as well as the leather industry and leather goods.

In addition, the tourism sector is also included in the scope of this policy.

Overall, there are 133 business field classifications that fall under this incentive programme.