REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia's new government plans to cut its budget deficit to one percent of gross domestic product by 2019, partly by reforming the tax system, according to miniter of  finance on Thursday.

A shortfall in tax revenue estimated at 6.15 billion USD threatened to push the 2014 budget deficit in Southeast Asia's largest economy to breach a legally binding limit of 3 percent of GDP. The new government of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo wants to curb the budget deficit, which forces Indonesia to issue bonds to pay interest on outstanding loans.

"The way to achieve this is through reform in tax administration," Minister of Finance Bambang Brodjonegoro told a news conference.

Brodjonegoro had earlier vowed to keep this year's budget deficit at 2.4 percent of GDP. He said he would revise the target for next year's budget deficit to 2 percent or less, below the 2.2 percent proposed by the former administration.