UMKM EV users must be protected if tax is imposed

Jakarta (ANTARA) - A member of Commission B of the DKI Jakarta DPRD, Dwi Rio Sambodo, has called on the local government to provide protection and special policies for UMKM operators using electric vehicles if the plan to impose taxes is implemented, to prevent wider economic impacts.

“There must be discretion regarding this issue (electric vehicle tax) so that the economic impact does not spread,” said Dwi Rio Sambodo, a member of Commission B of the DKI Jakarta DPRD, in Jakarta on Friday.

According to him, if the policy of imposing taxes on electric vehicles is implemented by the DKI Provincial Government, then UMKM operators must receive policies that ease the burden for them.

There are several types of electric-powered commercial vehicles used by UMKM, including blind vans, pickups, three-wheeled vehicles, and electric motorcycles.

Rio stated that the DKI Provincial Government also needs to consider the environmental impact, particularly the high air pollution from conventional vehicles.

For this reason, Rio continued, there is concern that when the electric vehicle tax is implemented, people will be reluctant to buy them.

“The potential decline in electric car purchases, the potential for electric vehicle business owners to hold back on expansion and investment, which could lead to an increase in unemployment figures in Jakarta, also needs to be considered,” he said.

Rio added that if the tax is applied, the regional own-source revenue (PAD) from electric vehicles would not be very significant, as the number is still relatively small compared to conventional vehicles.

He mentioned that there are only around 100,000 electric vehicles in Jakarta compared to 26 million conventional vehicles.

“If converted to our PAD, it would only be in the range of no more than 0.5 percent of PAD,” he said.