Deputy Minister Of Finance Says Not To Reduce The 2025 State Budget Deficit At 1.5 Percent

Deputy Minister of Finance Suahasil Nazara (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Finance said that it would not reduce the 2025 State Revenue and Expenditure Budget deficit (APBN) in the government of the President and Elected Vice President Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka to 1.5 percent to 1.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Meanwhile, in the 2025 Macroeconomic Framework document and Fiscal Policy Principles (KEM-PPKF), the government has set a fiscal deficit for the 2025 RAPBN in the range of 2.45 percent to 2.82 percent of GDP.

"We remain at 2.45 percent to 2.82 percent. As in the KEM-PPKF document," said Deputy Minister of Finance Suahasil Nazara at the Indonesian Parliament Complex, Wednesday, June 5.

Previously, the Minister of National Development Planning (PPN)/Head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Suharso Monoarfa hoped that the deficit in the 2025 State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) could be lowered to a level of 1.5 percent -1.8 percent. This is necessary so that the next government has a more flexible fiscal space.

"We hope that the Minister of Finance (Sri Mulyani Indrawati) and Commission XI, if that is agreed upon, we want the deficit to be even lower between 1.5 percent and 1.8 percent so that there is a fiscal space for the government to come if it will use the article," he said in a meeting with Commission XI of the DPR, Wednesday, June 5.

According to Suharso, this is based on articles 5 paragraphs 1 and 2 in Law (UU) number 17 of 2007 concerning the 2005-2025 National Long Term Development Plan (RPJPN), which explains that the current government is required to develop a Government Work Plan (RKP) and APBN for the next new government.

"Article 5 paragraphs 1 and 2, the point is that the current government is required to form and draft the Government Work Plan (RKP) and the State Budget Draft for the first term of the next presidential government," said Suharso.

In Law 17/2007 article 5 paragraph 1 explains in order to maintain the continuity of development and to avoid the vacancy of the national development plan, the President who is ruling in the last year his government is required to prepare a Government Work Plan (RKP) for the first year of the next Presidential Government period.

Meanwhile, in Article 2 of the law, as a guideline for drafting the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget for the first year of the next Presidential Government period.

Suharso said that there are rules that explain that the next elected president has ample space to improve the RKP and APBN through the Revised State Budget (APBN-P) mechanism.

"But there is also an explanation, it is stated that the next elected president has ample space to improve the RKP and APBN in the first year of government through the mechanism for changing the APBN-P," he said.