Sri Mulyani Says 98 Million People Get Free Health Access Thanks to Taxes

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that as many as 98 million Indonesians get access to health for free or without paying through BPJS Kesehatan, which is a social subsidy resulting from tax levies.

"More than 98 million Indonesians get access to health with BPJS Health without paying. That doesn't mean it doesn't pay, but the state pays through tax revenues," said Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani as quoted from Antara, Sunday, August 6.

Sri Mulyani emphasized that the tax money collected from the public was not only used to build infrastructure, but was also poured in the form of subsidies and social assistance.

Apart from being used to subsidize health payments for the poor, tax benefits can also be felt in people's daily lives, such as 3 kg LPG, electricity bills and fuel oil.

“The 3 kg LPG is tax money, that is, you are subsidized. If you try to charge your phone, the majority of electricity bills at home are still subsidized by the government, so it's not just in the form of buildings," she said.

Sri Mulyani further emphasized that she through the Ministry of Finance and the Directorate General of Taxes will continue to improve governance in order to provide convenience in reporting and paying taxes and continue to provide education about the importance of paying taxes and the benefits of taxes.

"So there are lots of tax benefits, but we also know that the public must be increasingly critical of all of us, so we will also be more transparent and continue to improve, we will continue to provide education," she said.

She also promised not to be selective in disciplining his ranks and employees who were proven to have made mistakes in managing taxes. Although humans are not free from mistakes, she said that she will not make concessions to mistakes.

"This is our promise, Ministry of Finance, Directorate General of Taxes. That is the effort of all of us to build this beloved Indonesia, our own country, our own nation can only be big, can only progress because of our own sweat. So we will continue to advance, we will continue to cooperate and we will never forget to thank all Indonesian people who have paid taxes well," she said.