The absurdity of

The absurdity of
our 'exit tax'

The departure tax does not apply for non-residents of
Indonesia. Indonesians with a foreign stay permit (e.g. students)
did not have to pay the exit tax when it was first introduced, if
they only took one trip home and when back abroad during any
given 12-month period. There was no time limit to their length of
stay in Indonesia during that one year.

Then this was changed without notice to the public. Now if an
Indonesian, who lives, works or studies abroad, he/she is only
allowed to stay a maximum of 181 days in his home country. If
he/she stays longer, he/she is forced/punished to pay the "exit
tax". However, Indonesians with foreign stay permits are allowed
to come and go three times in a year without paying that "tax".
Isn't this unfair?

The one that "overstays" the limit of 181 days in his/her own
country because of serious reasons (serious illness, death of a
relative, or a natural disaster like a flood) has to pay and the
one that can afford two to three trips per year does not have to
pay anything!

The official name for this tax is the PPh tax (income tax) and
may be reclaimed through bureaucratic channels. Students or
elderly people normally don't work and thus pay no income tax.
How can they reclaim this expense, without even a tax number?
Could someone please shed some light on this obscure situation?

Calling it a "departure tax" (you have to pay to be able to
leave this country), is the right term and the camouflaged term
"refundable PPh tax" is nonsense, because I, and perhaps many
others, cannot get that money refunded. I am a senior citizen and
my children live abroad. They pay for my tickets and the
departure tax, affording me a break from the stresses of life
here. This restrictive tax is purely a money-grabbing system and
the students and senior citizens with no taxable income should be
exempted from it.

I sincerely hope that this present talk about a total
abolishment of this "exit permit" is not just another example of
"kicking sand into the eyes" of concerned people, whilst the
issue dies on the road and things go on as before. It really
hurts the average citizen/family, who want to widen horizons by
visiting different cultures, while businesspeople just put this
expense on the company account and don't even feel it and on top
can even claim and deduct it in their yearly tax report as taxes
payed!

SUHARTO
Jakarta