August 20, 2025 | 05:47 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Finance Ministry has confirmed that it will not raise tax rates or introduce new tax policies, even with a significant increase in the 2026 tax revenue target. The 2026 State Budget Draft (RAPBN 2026) aims for a tax revenue of Rp2,357.7 trillion, a 13.5 percent increase from the projected 2025 revenue of Rp2,076.9 trillion.
Director General of Economic and Fiscal Policy Strategy at the Finance Ministry, Febrio Nathan Kacaribu, stated that the government will instead focus on improving tax compliance.
"There will be no rate hikes. Everything will be done in accordance with the law. Minister Sri Mulyani has already emphasized the focus on improving compliance," Febrio told reporters at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta on Tuesday, August 19, 2025.
Indonesian Government to Target Shadow Economy
According to the RAPBN 2026 document, one of the government's key strategies is to address the shadow economy, which has the potential to erode the tax base. In 2025, the government conducted a study to measure and map the shadow economy and developed a specific Compliance Improvement Program (CIP) to address it.
The document also mentions plans to conduct intelligence studies to further explore the shadow economy's potential. "In the future, the government will focus on monitoring sectors with high shadow economy activities such as retail trade, food and beverage, gold trading, and fisheries," the document states.
Additionally, the government plans to cross-check data on unidentified business operators from digital platforms for fiscal purposes.
Concerns Over Unrealistic Targets
Riandy Laksono, a researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), believes that the government's 2026 tax revenue target is unrealistic.
"Historically, a thirteen percent increase is unreasonable because our historical increase has only been 5 to 6 percent. Double-digit revenue growth usually occurs during a commodity boom," Riandy said at a media briefing on Monday, August 18, 2025.
According to Riandy, achieving a 13 percent increase is difficult to imagine without a clear new source of economic growth. He is concerned that if the government pushes for such an ambitious target, it might intensify its efforts on existing tax bases, for example, by increasing Value Added Tax (VAT) or Income Tax (PPh).
"We do not want this, as the potential for an economic slowdown still exists, so consumption needs to be maintained," Riandy concluded.
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