On Toll Road VAT, Purbaya Assures No New Taxes Before Significant Economic Improvement

Jakarta, VIVA – Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has promised that no new tax scheme will be applied before economic conditions and public purchasing power show significant improvement. He stressed that the recovery of purchasing power is one of the main considerations in determining the necessity of new tax policies. “It’s my promise, it hasn’t changed. Before there is significant improvement in purchasing power, before there is significant economic improvement, we will not implement new taxes or raise the rates of existing taxes,” Purbaya said in the Sudirman area, South Jakarta, on Wednesday, 22 April 2026. Regarding the benchmarks for economic improvement, Purbaya will look at several indicators, such as economic growth and consumer confidence surveys. On whether the 6 percent economic growth target is one of the benchmarks, he stated that the figure does not have to reach exactly 6 percent, but approaching that level can also be considered as showing economic improvement. “My calculation is close to there (6 percent). But not exactly 6 percent, close is fine. But we must ensure that it does not disrupt the economic direction if the new tax policy is implemented,” he said. It is known that the issue of implementing Value Added Tax (VAT) on toll roads has recently emerged in public discourse, as stated in the Directorate General of Taxes’ (DJP) 2025-2029 Strategic Plan as one of the options for expanding the state revenue base. However, Purbaya admitted that he will still study the plan further before making a decision. He will also ask the Directorate General of Economic and Fiscal Strategy (DJSEF) of the Ministry of Finance to conduct an analysis first, while coordinating with the Directorate General of Taxes (DJP). “I’ll sort it out later. That should be analysed first by the Fiscal Policy Agency (DJSEF), I don’t know if it’s been done or not, but now suddenly there are many tax issues. Adding taxes here and there,” he said. (Ant)