Taxpayers warned of deadlines

JAKARTA (JP): The government yesterday reminded property owners of the approaching deadlines for the payment of land and building (property) taxes, which are due at the end of this month at the latest.

"The deadline is set for Dec. 31 in most parts of the country, though some Jakarta deadlines were set on Oct. 10," Director of Land and Building Tax Machfud Sidik told reporters here yesterday.

He said most people in urban areas, particularly Jakarta, are very reluctant to pay property tax (locally acronymed as PBB) and wait until just before the deadlines.

The Directorate General of Taxes actually sent notifications on PBB payments to property owners throughout the country on July 1 to allow them enough time to arrange their own schedules of payments through nearby banks, he said.

He said delayed payments of property tax will be subject to a fine of two-percent interest per month.

He also said that the property tax is one of the main revenues for local administrations.

The government, under its budget plan, expects the amount of property taxes collected to increase Rp 1.47 trillion (US$670 million) in 1993-94 to Rp 1.63 trillion this fiscal year.

Machfud said that the collection of this year's property tax, as of Nov. 23, reached 57 percent of the government's target, slightly higher than the 55 percent collected in the same period of last fiscal year.

Machfud also said collection of property tax in Jakarta alone is expected to increase to Rp 214 billion this year from Rp 163.11 billion last fiscal year.

This year's collection from property tax payers in Jakarta reached Rp 155.88 billion as of Nov. 23, he said. (icn)