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Indonesia: Kadin calls for review of higher import tax on 200 goods
The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has called on the government to review 200 goods subject to higher import tax as of this month.
“Based on our teams’ assessment, 200 capital goods are on the list. We will report them to the government. The point is that the goods are either not available here or are sporadic in supply,” Kadin chairman Rosan P. Roeslani said as reported by kontan.co.id over the weekend.
The government announced a list of 1,147 consumer goods to be subject to an extra 10 percent import tax starting this month to reduce the current account deficit (CAD).
The CAD increasing to 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) was thought to be the cause of the rupiah depreciating, to as low as Rp 15,000 to the US dollar recently.
Rosan said the government and businesspeople had agreed to higher import tax only for consumer goods, but capital goods had been included on the list.
“Before the policy was introduced, we submitted input. We called on the government to list only consumer goods, but goods needed for the production of goods for export are also on the list,” he said.
“We should not send the wrong signal that we have become more protectionist.”
Rosan said higher import tax on capital goods could reduce the competitiveness of Indonesian exports on the international market. (bbn)
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/09/17/kadin-calls-for-review-of-higher-import-tax-on-200-goods.html