Purbaya Denies Claims Government Is Holding Back Tax Refunds
JAKARTA, DDTCNews - Minister of Finance, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, has asserted that the government is not attempting to hold back tax refund disbursements to taxpayers.
Purbaya said that if refunds were being obstructed, the value of refunds this year should not have grown compared with last year.
"The refunds disbursed by us now are higher than last year over the same period. They should be receiving more money," said Purbaya on Friday (26/6/2026).
According to Purbaya, tax refunds should not be a cause for complaint among taxpayers, given that the amount disbursed in the first 4 months of 2026 is equivalent to disbursements between January and September 2025.
"In 4 months [this year], IDR160 trillion has already been paid out; last year it took 9 months to reach IDR160 trillion. If you multiply 4 months by 3, that comes to roughly IDR500 trillion. Last year, the full-year figure was IDR360 trillion. With those figures, there should be no complaints. That means it is the tax officials themselves who are playing games," said Purbaya.
Purbaya also instructed tax employees not to stir up controversy over tax refunds.
"Tax officials must not play games or stir up controversy. Let the tax officials know not to create a commotion. If there is any more trouble, I will conduct a proper audit," said Purbaya.
On another note, taxpayers are entitled to apply for tax refunds. Taxpayers have the option of applying for standard refunds based on audits (Article 17B of the General Provisions and Tax Procedures Law (GPTP Law)) or accelerated refunds based on examination (MoF Reg. 28/2026).
Recently, obstacles to the disbursement of tax refunds have drawn scrutiny from entrepreneurs and the House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat/DPR in Indonesian). Commission XI DPR member, Harris Turino, also reminded the government to treat refunds as a taxpayer right.
"Numerous companies are complaining about restrictions on refunds. Refunds are being treated as though they were a favour, whereas in reality they are a right," said Harris last week. (dik)
