Tax on dollar deals

Tax on dollar deals

From Bisnis Indonesia

I am highly concerned about the fate of the little people within the ranks of government officials, retirees, the Armed Forces and others who have never seen dollars but who are now hit by the volatility of the rupiah against the American currency.

The people who have made huge profits are those who have been speculating since mid-July 1997 because there has been no tax on dollar deal profits.

If they had purchased dollars at Rp 2,500 and sold them at Rp 15,000, imagine their profit if the transactions involved millions of dollars.

With the objective of collecting funds to subsidize food staples, medicines and hospitalization for the little people, I propose:

1. A 15 percent to 20 percent tax on buying and selling dollars. It would be a compulsory levy for the benefit of the little people.

2. The same levy applied to dollar deposits.

3. Buying and selling dollars should temporarily be limited to a number of state banks. The names and addresses of the buyers and sellers must be registered and, if need be, also their tax registration number.

BACHRAWI SANUSI

Jakarta