Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said the country`s tax revenue target set at Rp1,424 trillion for 2018 or 20 percent higher than last year`s realization was reachable.

"The 20 percent growth is still within reach," she said in a dialog with a number of economic observers and chief editors here on Monday.

She said several sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and trade would again contribute to state revenues this year like in 2017.

She however admitted that some other sectors still remained weak and could not yet contribute optimally to tax income.

"We will not implement `one size fits all` principle but we will consider all sectors. Tax tevenue and spending targets have been set in such a way so that the national budget could be a driving force instead of hurdle for the economy," she said.

In view of that she believed the tax revenue target that grew by 20 percent from last year would be achieved in line with the realistic calculation used when drafting the 2018 budget.

The calculation was based on an assumption of growth of 5.4 percent plus 3.5 percent inflation and four percent extra efforts that have routinely be made.

"We also have AeOI (agreement on exchange of information). So after we first enforced it without well information now we have had good information meaning if one has to pay tax he has to do it," she said.

By using the data in addition to improving budiness process in tax collectio. she said

tax authorities` performance would now be more orderly and tax payers` compliance would improve.

"What is challenging is tax officers` behavior. We have improved the fiscus approach and method of conveying so we can assure that cases like use of figures from the sky or finding fault would not happen again," she said.

Tax revenues until the end of December 2017 were recorded reaching Rp1,151 trillion or 89,7 percent of the target set for the 2017 budget.

Revenues from non-oil and gas income tax were recorded at Rp596.9 trillion, value added tax and import taxes at Rp480.7 trillion, property tax at Rp16.7 trillion, othervtaxes at Rp6.75 trillion and oil and gas income tax at Rp49 96 trillion.

The non-oil and gas income tax receipts were also contributed by tax funds from Tax Amnesty Program that ended in March 2017 reaching Rp12 trillion.

Reported by Satyagraha
(H-YH/a014)
(T.SYS/B/KR-BSR/A014)

Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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