REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – The Minister of Finance, Agus Martowardojo, said he did not rule out the possibility that the taxation law may be revised to raise the country`s tax ratio to up to 16 percent. "We feel it necessary to revise the taxation law to achieve an increasing amount of tax receipts," he said on Thursday.
He said the revision might deal with the tax computing system now that many areas of tax receipts had not been optimally tapped to increase state revenues. The system had so far benefited taxpayers, he said.
Because of the system the country`s tax ratio was lower than those of other countries which reached 18-20 percent, he said. The lower tax ratio was because the government did not incorporate regional tax receipts and natural resource revenues to the calculation of the tax ratio, he said.
If the two kinds of tax receipts were incorporated to the tax ratio it might be higher than the present tax ratio which stood at around 12 percent, he said. He said the country`s tax receipts always increased every year, and so did the national gross domestic product. Consequently, the tax ratio stood at a range of 11 percent to 12 percent.
"Tax receipts grow by more than 20 percent every year. But because the GDP also increases the percentage reaches about 12 percent," he said.