Land prices keep going up

JAKARTA (JP): The price of land on Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Kebon Sirih in Central Jakarta reached a record Rp 12 million (US$5,106) per square meter this year, the highest in the city.

This was an increase of Rp 2 million on 1996 prices, an official said yesterday.

Head of the city revenue office Wahab Rachmatsjah said the projection was the result of an annual review made by his office to estimate income from property taxes in the area.

"This year, value of land in the city will range between Rp 14,000 to Rp 12 million per square meter," Wahab said.

Last year, the value of land ranged from Rp 64,000 to Rp 10 million, he said.

City revenues from property taxes in the 1996/1997 fiscal year were expected to reach Rp 334.5 billion, up from Rp 284.4 billion last fiscal year.

Up to Jan. 10, the city had collected Rp 241.3 billion, or 72.15 percent of property taxes.

The property tax is the accumulation of the value of taxable property divided by 1,000.

A councilor from the Indonesian Democratic Party, Djenny Suharso, said the city should socialize the new price of land before using the prices as standards to collect property tax.

"Don't determine the amount of the property taxes based solely only on the land's location, but also its function," Djenny said.

For instance, owners of houses in expensive areas should not have to pay the same amount of tax as office owners in the same area, he said.

Zakiruddin Djamin, member of Commission E for People's Welfare, said those who could not pay the tax were able to ask for a reduction.

"People who have retired but live in expensive areas such as Menteng, Central Jakarta, should be able to ask for a tax reduction," Zakiruddin said.

While Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Kebon Sirih topped the list of locations, the lowest priced land cost Rp 14,000 per square meter in the Pulau Kelapa and Pulau Untung Kelapa subdistricts, in the Pulau Seribu Islands off the North Jakarta mayoralty.

The cheapest land in Central Jakarta was Rp 335,000 per square meter, in the Petamburan, Pegangsaan, Kramat and Kemayoran subdistricts.

In West Jakarta, the highest priced land was Rp 7.5 million per square meter on Jl. Gadjah Mada and Jl. Hayam Wuruk, while the lowest was Rp 64,000 per square meter in the Kamal subdistrict.

In North Jakarta, the highest priced area was the Ancol subdistrict, where land cost Rp 6 million per square meter.

In East Jakarta the most expensive plots were in the Cawang and Bidara Cina subdistricts, at Rp 3.1 million per square meter, while the lowest were in Ujung Menteng, Cakung Timur, Cakung Barat and Rawa Rate subdistricts at Rp 128,000 per square meter. (ste)