Gerindra Rejects VAT On Education Services: Dropout Rates Are Higher

JAKARTA - The government's plan to collect a Value Added Tax (VAT) on education services has drawn many rejections from the parliament.

The discourse is contained in the revised draft of Law Number 6 of 1983 concerning General Provisions and Tax Procedures (KUP). Whereas in the original law, educational services were included in the VAT-free service category.

Member of Commission X 0f House of Representatives Gerindra Party faction, Himmatul Aliyah, firmly rejected the government's plan because every citizen is guaranteed the right to education. The government is also mandated to pay for the education of its citizens.

"This is clearly stated in Article 31 of the 1945 Constitution", said Himmatul to reporters, Friday, June 11.

According to her, this plan is very unethical as well as unconstitutional. Because now people are actually charged with tax obligations where the government should be the one who has to pay for the education of its citizens.

"So, if the plan is implemented and the law is passed, it will be vulnerable to being sued in the Constitutional Court", said the Gerindra politician.

The DKI Jakarta legislator said that the imposition of taxes on the education sector will increase the cost of education so that it will burden the community. Of course, he said, it would create injustice because education was increasingly out of reach for the community.

This, he continued, clearly contradicts the principles of national education as stated in Law Number 20 of 2003 concerning the National Education System. It is stated in the law that the national education system must be able to ensure equal distribution of educational opportunities and education is carried out in a democratic, fair and non-discriminatory manner.

In addition, Himmatul added, the imposition of taxes on the education sector in the midst of a pandemic will increase the dropout rate. Moreover, the ongoing pandemic has reduced the economic resilience of the community which has an impact on the inability of citizens to pay for education costs.

"The imposition of an education tax can increase the high dropout rate, thereby reducing school participation rates in Indonesia. Such conditions are certainly paradoxical to the government's own vision, namely to create superior human resources for advanced Indonesia", she said.