Mahfud MD Sindir Gibran's Vision Of Mission Regarding Tax Ratio

Mahfud MD (Photo: Screenshot of Youtube)

JAKARTA - Vice Presidential Candidate Mahfud MD questioned the purpose of the vice presidential candidate Gibran Rakabuming Raka regarding the 23 percent increase in the tax ratio target.

"In your vision and mission, it is stated that the tax ratio is increased to 23 percent, in our simulation, that figure is almost unreasonable," said Mahfud during the 2024 Cawapres Debate, Friday, December 22.

According to Mahfud, the target does not make sense because Indonesia's economic growth has never reached 10 percent to meet the tax-to-level ratio target.

"In our simulations, that figure almost doesn't make sense because in economic growth it can be 10 percent even though so far economic growth is 5-6 percent. That's if you can increase the tax ratio to that much, the increase in the economy can be 10 percent. Then how do you want to increase taxes? People tax incentives don't take them," said Mahfud.

Mahfud again questioned the purpose of Gibran regarding the percentage of 23 percent of GDP, or from the APBN. If 23 percent of the APBN, Mahfud said that it was wrong, because now it is 82 percent of the APBN. With the current tax ratio of only 10.5 percent, the contribution to the APBN is 20 percent.

"23 percent is from what? From GDP? From the APBN? Or what? To raise taxes. Be careful, people are sensitive if taxes are raised. Because we have repeatedly offered tax amnesty, the results are not clear, then the tax incentives have also been offered, they also don't want to, because they are blackmailed into negotiating tools at the tax office," concluded Mahfud.

For information, the government is currently targeting the tax ratio in 2023 to be at the level of 10 percent. Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Taxes (DJP) of the Ministry of Finance posted a tax ratio in 2022 reaching 10.39 percent.