E-Commerce Traders Hijacked For Justice Against Conventional Business Actors

JAKARTA The government's plan to collect taxes from traders on various e-commerce platforms is believed to create justice for conventional business actors, although the challenges will certainly not be easy.

The government through the Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani plans to collect taxes from traders on e-commerce platforms such as Shopee, Tokopedia, TikTok Shop, and the like.

According to a Reuters report, the government will require e-commerce to collect a 0.5 percent sales tax for traders whose annual turnover is IDR 500 million to IDR 4.8 billion.

This policy, he said, is part of the government's efforts to boost tax revenues. In addition, the government also wants to equate the treatment between traders in online stores and physical stores.

According to a number of sources, the tax plan will be outlined in a new regulation that will be issued as soon as next month.

This discourse certainly reaps mixed reactions. From an economic observer's perspective, many positively welcomed the policy plan. Director of the Digital Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) Nailul Huda assessed that this policy would have a positive impact if it was implemented evenly.

"This policy is indeed better to bind to entrepreneurs, whether they sell online or offline," said Huda when contacted by VOI.

So I think this is a good step from the government to implement the same policy between online and offline sellers. So there is a level of playing field that is the same and there is no specification for online sellers, "he added.

However, Nailul Huda emphasized that the main focus of this policy should not be on potential state revenue, but on equal treatment of regulations between sellers in online and offline stores.

Huda realized that the possibility of this policy being rejected by sellers because they had to increase the selling price of products. But according to him, the 0.5 percent tax rate should not have a significant impact on the price of goods.

"Entrepreneurs with a turnover of IDR 500 million per year, it's already big and should be taxed. There is no need for exceptions," explained Huda.

Perhata platform e-commerce, kata Huda, harus menyadari bahwa pajak ini adalah bagian dari kewajiban penjual. Namun sebelum melakukan peraturan ini, menurut Huda pemerintah seharusnya melakukan integrase data sehingga tidak ada pihak yang dirugikan.

He said, of the many sellers in e-commerce stalls, there must be some of them who obey the tax and even become taxable entrepreneurs (PKP).

This policy is more appropriate to apply to business actors who have not been registered as PKP but have turnover that meets the criteria. That way, the policy will be more targeted and will not cause double burden for business actors who are obedient.

"Data integration needs to be done so that tax-abiding sellers are no longer deducted," he said.

Indonesian Center of Reform of Economics (Core) economist Yusuf Rendy Manilet also spoke up. He assessed that the government was indeed trying to create fiscal justice.

This is done because so far many conventional business actors feel disadvantaged because they are subject to tax obligations. At the same time, a number of foreign exchange traders, especially small-scale, have not been reached by the same rules.

As a result of this inequality, it can create unfair competition. For this reason, the policy of imposing taxes on online traders is considered a logical step to equalize.

According to Yusuf, this tax levy policy brings benefits and losses to all parties involved. On the government side, it has benefited from the various increase in state revenues from the digital economy sector whose value continues to increase.

Revenue from this sector can later be used to finance development, education, and other public services. Not only that, but this tax collection can also create equality between conventional and digital business actors.

"However, the challenges are also not small. Monitoring millions of digital transactions, including those across countries and anonymous, requires sophisticated systems and good coordination. Without comprehensive socialization and an inclusive approach, the risk of resistance and failure of implementation is quite high," he explained.

If viewed from the side of the e-commerce platform, clear regulations can provide legal certainty. According to Yusuf, they can also get incentives if they are involved in the tax collection mechanism.

Then for traders, especially for those who are already in administrative order, this policy has the opportunity to get greater access to state facilities, such as financing opportunities and training.

"However, the biggest concern remains in the potential decrease in profit margins due to additional tax burdens, as well as administrative complexities that can take up the time and energy of small business actors. Without support in the form of education and taxation systems that are MSME-friendly, many traders may choose to leave the digital platform," Yusuf explained.

Finally, from the buyer's side, it can have a positive or negative impact. If you look at the long term, this policy is beneficial for buyers because it can get improvements to public services financed from taxes.

But in the short term, there is a possibility of an increase in prices because sellers transfer tax burdens to consumers. In the midst of economic recovery like now, this has the potential to reduce people's purchasing power and narrow access to products that were previously affordable.