TAXATION - JAKARTA. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the government might offer other incentives -- such as a tax holiday and tax allowance -- to investors because no one applied for it last year.
"No one applied for the incentives last year. Were they not interesting? We may need other kinds of incentives," she said during a fiscal dialogue event in Jakarta on Monday.
A tax holiday was introduced in 2011 to allow investors to invest their money in strategic sectors with a minimum capital outlay of Rp 1 trillion (US$74 million). The facility will free investors from paying taxes for between five and 10 years.
Both incentives were issued based on the recommendation of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) and the Industry Ministry.
Sri Mulyani called on related institutions in the ministry -- the Fiscal Policy Agency and the Directorate-General of Taxation and Customs and Excise office -- to carry out an evaluation of the fiscal incentives.
The evaluation had to involve several other ministries -- the Trade Ministry, the Agriculture Ministry, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry -- to find out why the fiscal incentives failed to attract investors, she added.
She suspected that there were still many problems that made investors wary of investing their money in the country, like the scarcity of raw materials and labor issues. “Therefore, if there are problems, we welcome input from other ministries,” Sri Mulyani said.
Tax revenue is the backbone of state revenue with a contribution of 85.4 percent. (srs/bbn)
