A Series Of Ways, The Ministry Of Communication And Information To Seduce Netflix To Pay Taxes

JAKARTA - Netflix's video on demand (VoD) -based service was again mentioned by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kominfo). Because since its presence in Indonesia, Netflix has not paid taxes on the business it runs.

Minister of Communication and Informatics (Menkominfo) Johnny G Plate said he would adopt a US-style tax collection system called Nexus Tax to Netflix. This is possible because not many technology companies have offices in Indonesia.

Moreover, the government is currently working on an omnibus law for taxation. So that it allows tax collection for Over the Top (OTT) companies, including Netflix, to be taxed.

"Later there will be a Draft Omnibus Law Bill or a Draft Tax Law. Well, it will be regulated there," Johnny said in Jakarta, Thursday, January 30.

Not only the problem of tax collection, Johnny also asked Netflix to provide more original Indonesian content. This is so that customers can also enjoy the works of the nation's young filmmakers.

"I support Netflix to present various types of Indonesian films, so that the audience has many choices," he added.

The goal is for the creativity of Indonesian cinema to be more advanced and to have more innovation in the field of film. Although now many better Indonesian films have emerged.

Others, Netflix was also mentioned about the affordable price for the subscription fee. Because so far, the video streaming service has a price that is not cheap when compared to local HOOQ products.

Plate said that Netflix in Indonesia has a high selling power. However, if the company has a more competitive price, the selling power will be wider.

"Of course to reach the purchasing power in Indonesia, the big market, the economy or the price is the company's decision with all the considerations. Of course we leave it to the company. If asked about good quality, large market, competitive prices, right," explained Plate. .

Netflix itself has four subscription options, namely access from a mobile phone Rp.49,000, Basic Rp.109,000, Standard Rp.139,000 and Premium Rp.169,000. Kominfo's request is none other than so that Indonesians can choose to watch legal and non-pirated films such as streaming through free-access websites.

Given that recently, Kominfo has also blocked various streaming sites for pirated films, because they violate copyrights and also cause harm to Indonesian film filmmakers.