BERITA TERKINI
JAKARTA, DTCNews - Numerous complaints have reportedly been submitted by taxpayers through the “Lapor Pak Purbaya” channel concerning letters of inquiry (surat permintaan penjelasan atas data dan/atau keterangan/SP2DK in Indonesian). The issue has quickly captured the attention of netizens over the past week.
The Ministry of Finance recorded 79 complaints over the SP2DK submitted by taxpayers. According to the reports, the taxpayers deem that the tax officers communicate poorly when submitting the SP2DK and even tend to emphasize the risk of higher underpayment if the SP2DK is escalated to a tax audit.
“The tax officers are not communicative and assert that an audit will ensue with the risk of a higher tax underpayment," Purbaya said while reading out the complaint submitted through Lapor Pak Purbaya.
In light of this situation, Purbaya is set to enhance the communication skills of account representatives (AR) in interacting with taxpayers. The lack of effective communication renders the SP2DK being perceived as a coercive notice of tax collection by the taxpayers.
Moreover, the Ministry of Finance intends to strengthen the profiling process for tax employees who will be appointed as ARs.
“The Inspectorate General expected to supervise Ars on a regular basis,” he added.
On another note, an SP2DK refers to a letter issued by AR at the tax office (kantor pelayanan pajak/KPP in Indonesian) as part of P2DK activities, namely requesting details and information from a taxpayer based on material compliance examination, indicating non-compliance and unfulfilled tax obligations.
Apart from the update on AR competency, several other noteworthy developments also merit attention, including updates on the Tax Consultant Law, lawsuit against the pension tax, discourse on the attachment of high-sugar labels to sweetened beverages and updates pertaining to the extension of the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) final income tax period.
Minister of Finance, Purbaya, has signalled that an indefinite extension of the MSME final income tax is ‘possible’. However, certain conditions are to be satisfied.
According to Purbaya, the final income tax scheme can be made permanent insofar as it is genuinely utilised by MSMEs, instead of large businesses masquerading as MSMEs.
“Essentially, if they are truly MSMEs and not pretending, … provided that they’re not claiming to be MSMEs despite being, in fact, large businesses, there should be no issue making the scheme permanent,” he said.
However, Purbaya continued, the government will not permanently adopt the MSME final income tax scheme in the near future. Instead, the utilisation period of the MSME final income tax will be extended until 2029 while the authorities assess its implementation.
The Indonesian Tax Consultants Association (Ikatan Konsultan Pajak Indonesia/IKPI) encourages the government and the House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat/DPR in Indonesian) to expedite the enactment of the Tax Consultant Law.
The proposal was submitted by the Chairperson of IKPI, Vaudy Starworld, in a public hearing (rapat dengar pendapat umum/RDPU in Indonesian) held by Commission XI of the House of Representatives.
"We see the urgency of the Tax Consultant Law as a means to protect taxpayer interests, support state revenues in terms of taxation and safeguard the tax consultant profession," stated Vaudy.
The Constitutional Court (Mahkamah Konstitusi/MK in Indonesian) has once again rejected the application for a judicial review of the provisions on the taxation of pension income in the Income Tax Law submitted by the applicant through Application Number 186/PUU-XXIII/2025.
The Constitutional Court ruled that the application was obscure. Consequently, the Constitutional Court decided not to further examine the application.
“The legal standing and subject matter of the application will not be further considered,” remarked Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, Suhartoyo, during the hearing.
The government is currently reviewing the introduction of ‘high sugar’ warning labels on packaged sweetened beverages.
Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs, Zulkifli Hasan, explained that the attachment of high-sugar labels aims to raise public awareness, in particular, the younger generation, of health risks posed by excessive sugar consumption, such as diabetes and early-stage kidney failure. Through clear labelling, consumers can make more informed beverage purchasing decisions.
“These sweet beverages have resulted in young people having to undergo dialysis and become obese, affecting their productivity. The government aims to inform the public of the sugar content before they buy,” he said.
Minister of Finance, Purbaya, emphasized that the government will not expand excise duty to diapers and wet wipes in the foreseeable future.
Purbaya argued that the excise expansion should be implemented once economic conditions stabilise. Further, he is awaiting Indonesia’s economic growth of a minimum of 6% before pursuing broader excise and tax expansion.
“We are not going to apply it anytime soon. My benchmark remains the same; until the economy stabilises, I will not introduce additional taxes,” he claimed. (sap)
