Tax revenue plunges following mass strike at Freeport, official says

A Finance Ministry directorate general for taxation official says the mass strike at PT Freeport Indonesia, which forced the gold and copper miner to halt operations, has had a major impact on Indonesia’s tax revenues from the mining sector.

“The mass strike has surely had a direct impact. The [impact] is actually quite significant,” said the directorate general’s spokesman Dedi Rudaedi on Friday in Jakarta.

Dedi, however, declined to mention the amount of tax revenue lost from Freeport Indonesia. “It is confidential,” he said.

Freeport Indonesia spokesman Ramdani Sirait said that his company paid US$8 million, equal to about Rp 71 billion, per day in tax revenue. (lfr)