Neighbors want end to RI 'fiscal' tax

JAKARTA (JP): Three Indonesian neighbors, led by Malaysia, are urging Jakarta to abolish the tax it imposes on its citizens who leave the country, known as the "fiscal" tax, saying that it is hampering the growth of regional cooperation.

The call was made during a meeting last Friday in Kuching, East Malaysia, of senior officials from Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines grouped in the East ASEAN Growth Area, Antara reported.

The forum was established to promote business cooperation between the countries involved, especially territories that directly border on one another: Brunei; Mindanao in the Philippines; the states of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia; and the provinces of Maluku, North and South Sulawesi and Kalimantan in Indonesia.

Officials from Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines argued at the meeting that the tax -- Rp 50,000 for those traveling by ship and Rp 250,000 for those traveling by plane -- was slowing down the cooperation program, most notably the growth of tourism.

"Indonesia should reconsider the fiscal tax, perhaps waiving it for those who are traveling within ASEAN," an unidentified Malaysian official was quoted by Antara as saying.

ASEAN is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, comprised of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Indonesia has faced a similar demand for the abolition of the fiscal tax in another forum: the "growth triangle" which groups Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

On Friday, Director General of Tourism Andi Mappisammeng ruled out the possibility of abolishing the fiscal tax, saying it was a means by which the government limits the number of its citizens going abroad to those who could really afford it.

Speaking in Bukittingi, West Sumatra, after attending an Indonesia-Malaysia joint commission on tourism, Andi said that Indonesia had to maintain its reputation abroad and that meant keeping a tab on those of its people who went abroad.

He said that the fiscal tax was an advance payment of income tax which could be deducted from a citizen's tax bill at the end of the year.

He argued that the abolition of the tax would not have any major impact on tourism in neighboring countries.

The fiscal tax was introduced in the early 1980s as a way of deterring Indonesians from leaving the country and spending valuable foreign currency abroad. The immediate impact of the policy was a sharp drop in the number of Indonesians traveling to Singapore, then considered a shopper's haven by Indonesians.

Antara reported that Indonesia had, at the Kuching meeting, complained about the high levy imposed by Malaysia on foreigners working in that country.

The Indonesian delegation said the levy -- ranging from 250 to 300 ringgit (Rp 240,000-350,000) -- was a heavy burden, given the large number of Indonesians working in Malaysia. (imn)