Untaxable incomes raised

JAKARTA (JP): The government has increased the tax exempt ceiling on incomes for foreign professionals in the oil and mining industry, a spokesman for the Ministry of Finance said here yesterday.

Agus Haryanto told reporters that starting Aug. 26, the tax exempt ceiling for expatriates working as general managers at oil or gas drilling companies was raised to exempt salaries of US$11,275 per month from $10,250 per month.

The same ruling also applies for foreign managers in the same industry, whose tax exempt ceiling was raised to $9,350 from $8,500 for monthly earnings.

The ceiling of tax exempt incomes of rig supervisors, rig superintendents and tool pushers was raised to $5,830 per month from $5,300. The ceiling of their assistants, meanwhile, was fixed at $4,510 per month.

The spokesman also said that the ceiling of "other crew members" was set at $3,245 per month. (hdj)