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‘Digital tax’ pours $167m into state coffers in first half
The Finance Ministry has collected more than Rp 2.5 trillion (US$166.8 million) in value-added tax (VAT) and income tax obtained from digital companies and services in the first six months of this year as it taps new revenue streams to offset higher spending and keep fiscal consolidation on track.
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Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati speaks during a press conference at the G20 Finance Ministers Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, on July 16. (AFP/Pool/Sonny Tumbelaka)
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he Finance Ministry has collected more than Rp 2.5 trillion (US$166.8 million) in value-added tax (VAT) and income tax obtained from digital companies and services in Indonesia during the first six months of this year, as the government taps new revenue streams to offset higher spending and keep fiscal consolidation on track.
Rp 2.47 trillion came from VAT on transactions made through electronic systems (PMSE) on digital platforms like Google and Facebook, among many others, which the government has collected since 2020.
Income tax on peer-to-peer (P2P) lending services provided Rp 73 billion in revenue, while income tax and VAT on crypto asset transactions gave the government an additional Rp 48 billion. Both income sources were introduced in April of this year on the legal basis of the 2021 Tax Harmonization Law.
“Taxes obtained from digital platforms continue to develop. We hope [this development] remains positive,” Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told reporters on Wednesday.
Read also: Govt to start taxing P2P lending, e-wallet services
The government has been stepping up its tax collection in a bid to keep the state budget in good shape even while it spends large amounts on subsidies to prevent high global commodity prices from hurting consumers, as well as on compensation paid to state-owned energy companies and on social aid.
In first half this year, the government raked in tax revenue totaling Rp 868.3 trillion, which was up more than 55 percent from to the same period of last year.
