Ritchy, an Australian living in Bali, who planned to depart from the airport the second day the new rules came into effect, appeared astonished to learn that the exit tax had been increased to Rp 2.5 million (US$222).

He paid the exit tax without much complaint but was unable to hide his disappointment about not getting enough information about the rise.

"I think it's a bit too much. What makes me upset is that there was no written announcement on the rise," he said Friday.

Even at the airport, he said, he did not get thorough information about the exemption for registered taxpayers, with the young tax officer on duty mentioning only "NPWP", the initials for the registered taxpayer's number.

But Ritchy took note of those four letters with plans to find more information elsewhere.

Ritchy was not alone, with a number of people -- mostly foreign nationals -- also taken aback when it came to paying the increased exit tax.

The written announcement about the exit tax increase, written in Indonesian and English on two pieces of white paper, simply read, "According to the new regulation UU No. 36/2008 and PP No. 80, rate of fiscal tax Rp 2,500,000".

A pile of flyers containing detailed information about the new policy was seen inside the fiscal booth. It turned out the papers were not for the passengers, but for the tax officers.

One tax officer, Nyoman Yodie, said his office was planning to hand out flyers with the information but had yet to decide when.

He said that although some people had been surprised, none had canceled their trip.

"Many Indonesians already knew about the new policy and straightaway showed their NPWP card but a lot of Indonesians who lived abroad did not know about it," he told The Jakarta Post.

He said he had received a number of phone calls from hoteliers and expected that travelers would ask for information about the increase.

"I don't understand why so many travelers still don't know about it," Yodie said.

"The policy was announced a long time ago, wasn't it?"

Putu Suwardi, an Indonesian working in a hotel in Australia, said he was not aware of the new policy and hoped the government would exempt passengers from paying the exit tax.

The exit tax at airports for people aged 21 years and above has been increased from Rp 1 million to Rp 2.5 million, effective Jan. 1, 2009, to Dec. 31, 2010. The exit tax from sea ports has been raised from Rp 500,000 to Rp 1 million during the same period. From 2011, the exit tax will be scrapped altogether.

The increase in the exit tax is part of a government effort to encourage more potential taxpayers to register for a tax number.

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