Jakarta needs its billboards

Jakarta needs its billboards

From Bisnis Indonesia

Jakarta has become less attractive ever since the city
administration announced a 200 percent hike in taxes for
billboards and name boards recently.

Many owners have removed their billboards and name boards from
high-rise buildings following the announcement of the tax hike to
avoid higher taxes. This is because the higher the billboards and
name boards are, the higher the taxes get. The removal of the
billboards and name boards has affected the face of Jakarta,
especially at night, when billboards and name boards used to add
a glow to the capital with their colorful lights. In fact,
colorful billboards and name boards are one of the
characteristics of a metropolis. Even Governor Surjadi Soedirdja
stated after a recent trip to Paris that he intended to make
Jakarta as lively as Paris at night.

In line with the governor's intention, I propose that the city
administration at least waive the taxes on name boards on hotels
and office buildings. In my opinion, name boards are not
advertising because they give information, and are not a
promotion vehicle.

Certain name boards, such as the one installed in front of
Hotel Indonesia or on top of President Hotel, also serve as
billboards because they promote the hotels' activities. However,
if the hotels decide to discontinue their promotions because of
the high taxes, the city administration will be affected. The
reason is simple: Without promotion, the public are not informed
about the hotels' special activities and will therefore not
attend these special activities. This in turn will affect the
hotels' income and in return the city administration's income
from development and income taxes.

HIMAWAN

South Jakarta