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View all search resultsGovt denies austerity measures behind tax hike in Pati
The administration of Prabowo Subianto has denied reports that budget shortfalls from the austerity measures prompted a now-scrapped tax hike in Central Java’s Pati, as it called for dialogue to resolve public unrest in the regency that culminated in massive protests on Wednesday.
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Demanding resignation: Protests erupt in Pati, Central Java, on Wednesday calling for the ouster of Pati Regent Sudewo. (Antara/Aji Styawan)
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he administration of Prabowo Subianto has denied reports that budget shortfalls from the austerity measures prompted a now-scrapped tax hike in Central Java’s Pati, as it called for dialogue to resolve public unrest in the regency which culminated in massive protests on Wednesday.
“We hope the situation in Pati can be resolved properly. Everyone should engage in dialogue, meet with a cool head and a calm mind to settle this matter well. Because if public order is disrupted, the public’s interests will naturally be affected,” Presidential Communications Office (PCO) head Hasan Nasbi said on Thursday.
Hasan was responding to reporters’ questions surrounding the central government’s response to the massive demonstrations in Pati opposing Regent Sudewo’s attempt to increase land and building tax rates by up to 250 percent in May, only two months into his term.
Thousands of Pati residents flooded the streets on Wednesday, calling for the immediate resignation of Sudewo, a politician from Prabowo’s Gerindra Party, despite the regent having already backtracked on the tax hike last week.
When asked if the planned tax hike was driven by Prabowo’s sweeping austerity measures, Hasan called the accusation “premature” since the cuts only reduced local administrations’ budget by about 5 percent and that the authority to implement a hike in land and building tax rates falls on the local governments.
“The austerity measures [...] are not just for one or two regencies, but for around over 500 regencies and cities. They also apply to all ministries and institutions in the central government. So if there is a specific incident, like what happened in Pati, it is purely a local dynamic,” Hasan said.
Read also: Massive protest erupts in Pati demanding regent’s resignation
