Neighbors want end to RI 'fiscal' tax
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)