BERITA TERKINI
JAKARTA, DDTCNews - Escalating global geopolitical tensions have fuelled a rise in international oil prices, raising concerns over mounting pressure on the state’s fiscal stability. In response, the government has opted to set aside any proposal to increase the budget deficit ceiling.
Instead, the government is focusing on the optimisation of state revenues, not through the introduction of new taxes, but by intensifying enforcement against businesses suspected of engaging in under-invoicing or the declaration of transaction values below their actual amounts.
This issue has been at the forefront of public debate over the past week, approaching the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
“[Additional taxes] are not a certainty at this stage. We are still exploring options. Our primary focus is to rectify tax revenues and strengthen the underlying economy; as the economy improves, tax revenues will naturally follow,” stated Minister of Finance, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa.
Purbaya further revealed that a minimum of 10 companies have been identified as potentially engaging in under-invoicing practices, resulting in losses to the state. However, he refrained from quantifying the estimated fiscal impact of these irregularities.
He highlighted that decisive action against tax manipulation, such as under-invoicing, could significantly enhance revenue collection.
“We are identifying which companies apply under-invoicing and the scale involved. I believe these efforts will steadily improve our revenue outlook. I have examined 10 companies, each of which was engaged in under-invoicing,” he noted.
Beyond pursuing tax revenues, Purbaya indicated that the government will once again pursue expenditure savings across ministries and institutions (kementerian/Lembaga/K/L in Indonesian). All ministries and institutions are currently being instructed to review and streamline spending components that can be curtailed.
During a limited coordination meeting (rapat koordinasi terbatas/rakortas in Indonesian) with ministerial and institutional officials, he explained that efficiency measures will be applied across various expenditure accounts. In particular, the state treasurer will evaluate programmes requiring additional ceiling or additional expenditure budget (anggaran belanja tambahan/ABT in Indonesian) allocations.
“We discussed measures to boost state revenues, undertaking preliminary deliberations on how best to implement budgetary savings, should they be required,” Purbaya concluded.
In addition to the government’s strategies for addressing rising fiscal pressures, several other key issues have emerged as notable topics.
These include the government’s optimism that the state budget (anggaran penerimaan dan belanja negara/APBN in Indonesian) remains secure, increased tax remittances on account of positive progress in annual tax return filing and President Prabowo Subianto’s remarks concerning the prospect of widening the budget deficit.
The government has no immediate plans to issue a government regulation in lieu of law (peraturan pemerintah pengganti undang-undang/perpu in Indonesian) that would allow the state budget deficit to exceed 3% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
Minister of Finance Purbaya affirmed that the state budget remains stable and capable of absorbing the impact of elevated oil prices amidst ongoing conflict in the Middle East. He stressed that no exigent circumstances currently justify the issuance of such a regulation.
“We have not observed [any urgency] to date, as the budget remains sound. Should soaring oil prices persist over an extended period, we will reassess the fiscal outlook. It would, however, not automatically warrant the [issuance of a] government regulation in lieu of law,” he explained.
President Prabowo Subianto underscored the importance of maintaining the statutory budget deficit ceiling of 3% of the GDP as a mechanism for fiscal discipline.
The threshold, enshrined in the State Finances Law, serves to ensure the government’s prudence in both the formulation and execution of fiscal policies.
“The deficit ceiling is an effective instrument for disciplining ourselves,” Prabowo claimed.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, projected robust tax revenue growth through March 2026.
He made the statement in response to President Prabowo Subianto’s inquiry concerning tax revenues in March 2026 during a cabinet meeting last week. According to Airlangga, tax revenues are expected to see a rise in line with the filing period for the 2025 individual tax returns, which concludes in March 2026.
“March is expected to show higher figures, as all taxpayers are required to file [their annual returns] during this period,” he stated. (sap)
