BERITA TERKINI
JAKARTA, DDTCNews – Indonesia officially has a new minister of finance. Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, the former Chairperson of the Board of Commissioners of the Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation (Lembaga Penjamin Simpanan/LPS in Indonesian), was appointed as the minister of finance by President Prabowo Subianto.
Immediately after his inauguration, Purbaya drew public attention with a series of remarks, notably his desire to align Indonesia’s tax policies with both the national economic structure and the global tax system.
According to Purbaya, the alignment of tax policies constitutes one of the key strategies he will pursue to optimise state revenues in 2026.
“We are striving for a tax system that is attuned to the economic structure and the global tax system,” he stated in a working meeting with Commission XI of the House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat/DPR in Indonesian).
Further, Purbaya underscored that the Ministry of Finance is set to monitor and encourage the effectiveness of ongoing tax reforms. According to him, one of the outcomes of these reforms is increased taxpayer compliance.
He further highlighted the need to enhance the management of natural resources, state assets and service innovation. These measures, he noted, play a pivotal role in achieving state revenue targets and sustaining the investment climate for 2026.
In addition to optimising state revenues, next year’s state budget (anggaran pendapatan dan belanja negara/APBN in Indonesian) must also be oriented toward encouraging quality spending. Further, President Prabowo Subianto's administration has formulated eight priority agendas.
Moreover, the government is to design innovative and sustainable financing, which can be achieved by controlling debt at prudent levels and ensuring that Danantara contributes to accelerating investment flows into Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the government is deploying the remaining budget (sisa anggaran lebih/SAL in Indonesian) to anticipate economic uncertainty. At the same time, the government is reinforcing coordination of fiscal, monetary and financial sector policies to safeguard economic stability and job creation.
“To ensure that the state budget can respond to economic dynamics, address challenges and advance the development agenda, the draft state budget (rancangan anggaran pendapatan dan belanja negara/RAPBN in Indonesian) will be preserved in a sound and sustainable manner. To that end, an array of strategies will be implemented,” Purbaya concluded.
The topic of the new minister of finance has dominated national media coverage over the past week, with several of his statements proving particularly noteworthy.
Minister of Finance Purbaya also highlighted Indonesia’s tax ratio, which has remained stable without a significant increase in recent years.
Purbaya conveyed this statement following his inauguration by President Prabowo Subianto as the new minister of finance, succeeding Sri Mulyani Indrawati. According to Purbaya, one measure to boost the tax ratio is to accelerate national economic growth.
“The tax ratio reflects tax revenues as a share of the GDP. Let’s say we can’t change it anytime soon. To increase the tax ratio, we must first accelerate economic growth,” he said.
Purbaya also addressed the ongoing discourse surrounding the establishment of the State Revenue Agency (Badan Penerimaan Negara/BPN in Indonesian), which reportedly operates directly under the president.
As the new minister of finance, Purbaya stated that he had not received specific instructions from President Prabowo Subianto regarding the establishment of the State Revenue Agency. Instead, he claimed that Prabowo had entrusted him, as state treasurer, with the discretion to manage state finances.
“There haven't been any [instructions regarding the establishment of the BPN]. I believe the decision rests with me. I asked the president, ‘Sir, may I revamp the agency?’ Since I am new, I’m clueless whether the president intends a go or no-go,” he remarked.
Purbaya plans to disburse approximately IDR200 trillion of government funds deposited in Bank Indonesia (BI) accounts to be injected into the banking system.
According to Purbaya, the transfer of funds from the central bank to the banking system and the real economy aims to stimulate liquidity, credit and economic activities.
“I have reported to the president that I will invest the money in the economy. At present, there is IDR425 trillion in cash at BI; tomorrow, I will invest IDR200 trillion [in banking],” he said.
The Ministry of Finance has signalled openness to reviewing the increase in personal tax relief (penghasilan tidak kena pajak/PTKP in Indonesian) put forward by labour groups.
Purbaya stated that he had not yet received a report on the proposal. However, the Ministry of Finance is open to discussing the proposed increase.
“We have yet to discuss the issue. What is certain is that if there is input from my team at the Ministry of Finance, it is probably under discussion,” Purbaya remarked.
Customs and excise revenues for the period between January and July 2025 amounted to IDR171.07 trillion, reflecting a 10.8% increase compared with the same period last year.
Director General of Customs and Excise, Djaka Budhi Utama, stated that the positive customs and excise performance was primarily driven by growth in excise and export duty remittances. Only import duty remittances experienced a contraction.
“Total revenues until the end of July 2025 stood at IDR171.07 trillion, equivalent to 56.7% of the 2025 state budget target," he said during a hearing with Commission XI of the House of Representatives. (sap)
