Tax revenue per end of August reach Rp 105t

Tax revenue per end of August reach Rp 105t

JAKARTA (JP): Total tax receipts until end of August have
reached Rp 105.3 trillion (US$11.32 billion) or around 67 percent
of 2001 tax revenue target Rp 156 trillion, Director General for
Taxation Hadi Poernomo said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony at the
finance ministry, Hadi said that the tax office tax collection
strategy had been focussed on "intensification" and widening tax
base.

He said that the strategy had shown encouraging result as
reflected in the increase of non-oil and gas income tax revenue
from Rp 4.3 trillion in February to Rp 5.8 trillion at the end of
August.

Hadi said the country now had around 1.9 million individual
tax payers.

He expressed optimism that by 2004, Indonesia's tax ratio
would account for 16 percent of gross domestic product, compared
to the current ratio of 12 percent and 12.8 percent target for
2002.

The government targeted Rp 216.8 trillion tax revenue in the
2002 state budget draft.

Hadi defended the government decision to limit tax ratio
target to 12.8 percent of GDP for budget year 2002, instead of
13.6 percent as proposed by the House of Representatives (DPR).

"The 13.6 target for the 2002 fiscal year could not be
achieved because of a decrease in income tax revenue from oil and
gas sector due to production cut, the strengthening of the rupiah
as well as the lower crude oil price assumption," he argued.

"But the decrease could be offset by an increase in oil and
gas prices," he said.

The prices of oil and gas have gone up by an average of US$2
per barrel following the terrorist attacks on New York's World
Trade Center twin towers which shook the world's financial
center. (03)