Parking operators unaware of new law
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Parking operators said Saturday they were not aware of a new city bylaw which requires them to pay up to 20 percent of their total income to the city administration.
The Jakarta City Council passed the bylaw last Thursday, doubling the current tax rate. It is expected to earn the administration Rp 24 billion (US$2.6 million) a year from 420 parking locations, comprising 124,470 individual parking spaces: 90,544 for cars and 35,926 for motorcycles.
The manager of PT Securindo Packatama Indonesia's Plaza Senayan parking lot in Central Jakarta, Mahdi, said he was aware of the negotiations but not the finalized tax rate.
"I do not know if they have reached any agreement to require us to give the city administration 20 percent of our income.
"But I know that there were already several meetings with the administration which involved our company and several business associations," Mahdi told The Jakarta Post.
Similar comments were aired by Charles, the manager of the company's parking lot at Plaza Indonesia in Central Jakarta.
"I don't know anything about the 20 percent tax. You should contact our head office on Monday," he told the Post.
"I just take care of the day-to-day operations here."
Mahdi said there were 7,000 to 8,000 vehicles using the parking lot daily during weekdays.
"The number is even higher on weekends. It can reach 11,000 to 12,000 vehicles."
He said the average number of vehicles parked at Plaza Indonesia was between 4,000 to 5,000 cars.
Mahdi said that he did not know whether the company would increase parking charges to compensate for the 20 percent tax. "I haven't heard anything from my company's head office," he said.
Council spokesman Muhayat said that the City Parking Body would monitor the new bylaw to prevent any parking operators from raising charges.
Residents have long complained they do not get real security when they park their cars in parking lots in the city, which are mostly operated by PT Securindo Packatama under its brand name Secure Parking.
The company led parking operators in ignoring a gubernatorial decree, which stipulated a parking fee of Rp 1,000 per hour. Following strong public complaints and warnings from the city administration, the company, however, reduced its fees in accordance with the decree in May 2000.
Muhayat said the 20 percent tax was set by city councillors and officials.
The bylaw will be followed by another decree which will function as a guidelines for its implementation.