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)