YLKI calls for vehicle tax boycott, council wants postponement
YLKI calls for vehicle tax boycott, council wants postponement
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI)
called on Jakartans on Thursday to boycott vehicle registration
fees, which went up to 100 percent as of last month, while city
council has urged the city administration to postpone the
increase.
Foundation chairwoman Indah Sukmaningsih said the city
administration did not provide a clear explanation as to why the
registration fees and the tax on a change of ownership of a
vehicle were increased.
"We still don't know why the taxes went up and where they are
going to. People should boycott the taxes," Indah told The
Jakarta Post by phone.
Indah said city administration officials were only supposed to
collect enough taxes to reach the city's revenue target, instead
of trying to secure a profit from city-owned firms.
"They are like hoodlums who collect money without having to
work hard," she said.
Indah revealed that the foundation had received numerous calls
from consumers who complained and questioned the increase.
The foundation, along with other non-governmental
organizations grouped at the Coalition for Budget Transparency
(KOTA), has also urged the public to boycott taxes as a protest
against the 2001 city budget, which they claim benefits only the
governor and city council, but not the people.
Meanwhile, city councillors urged the city administration on
Thursday to postpone the registration fee increase, which in
practice goes up to 100 percent.
"It would be better if the administration postpones the
increase. People are living in difficult times, and they are
already dealing with plenty of increases in prices and utility
rates. We shouldn't burden them more," council deputy chairman
Djaffar Badjeber said.
Djaffar, from the United Development Party faction,
acknowledged that Gubernatorial Decree No. 33/2001 on the
registration fee calculation base did not need council's
approval.
But he said since the tax was in the public's interest, it
should have been discussed with the council first before the
governor issued the decree.
Golkar Party councillor Amarullah Asbah supported Djaffar's
statement, regretting that the administration did not discuss the
decree beforehand with council.
"The increase should have been postponed," Amarullah, who is
also the chairman of Commission C for city revenue, said.
According to Amarullah, Governor Sutiyoso should not change
the tax rate of 1.5 percent, which was incorporated in City Bylaw
No. 3/1998 as a tax on car registration and a change of ownership
of a vehicle.
Based on the new vehicle tax scheme, car owners have to pay
1.5 percent times the vehicle's price calculated by the city
administration.
The Jakarta Administration's list of selected vehicles and
their prices as the basis for the calculation of taxes is the one
being protested by YLKI, the city council and the public.
Separately, the head of the city revenue agency, Deden
Supriadi, ruled out a postponement on the increase and the
implementation of the new tax system.
"It is difficult to suspend the increase as it will affect the
city's revenue target," Deden said on Thursday.
He said he only heard about Sutiyoso's comments about
establishing a team to review the new tax increase from the
newspapers, adding that the city had yet to set up a team.
He said his agency was closely monitoring the payment scheme
since it was applied at the end of last month. Based on his
observations, Deden said, there were no major complaints made by
the public.
He said the agency was targeting to raise Rp 7 billion a day
in registration fees and taxes on a vehicle's change of
ownership, for a total of Rp 2 trillion this year.
A computer in Deden's office which is connected with those at
the three motor vehicle offices (Samsat) in the city, showed that
for Thursday, a total of Rp 4 billion in car registration fees
and Rp 1.2 billion in taxes for the change of ownership were
collected as of 1:30 p.m. Samsat's offices usually close at 2
p.m. (jun)