Pledge Not to Implement Tax Amnesty, Purbaya: Unless Ordered by the President

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has reaffirmed his commitment to not implementing a tax amnesty programme, also known as tax forgiveness, during his tenure as finance minister.

“Unless there is an order from the president, I will not implement tax amnesty while I am minister,” Purbaya stated at his office in Jakarta on Tuesday (12/5/2026).

Purbaya explained that the main reason he no longer wishes to run the tax amnesty programme is to protect officials and tax employees from policy practices that create opportunities for transactional dealings.

According to him, the tax amnesty programme always provides grey areas for tax authorities.

“It’s never black and white, there are grey areas; after it’s over, years later, tax officers are investigated, so I am protecting my colleagues in tax,” Purbaya revealed.

“Moving forward, we will not implement tax amnesty unless ordered by the president, so that you can work calmly; just implement what exists now with discipline and maintain integrity,” he added.

For information, the tax amnesty programme has been held in Indonesia twice. The first was from July 2016 to March 2017, with total revenue of Rp 130 trillion.

The second period, known as Tax Amnesty Volume II or the Voluntary Disclosure Programme (PPS), ran from January to June 2022, yielding revenue of Rp 61 trillion.

“It’s useless to get Rp 100 trillion in one year; the first one brought in that amount, but afterwards everyone is restless because there are definitely grey areas there. Several colleagues have been called by the Prosecutor’s Office,” Purbaya emphasised.