REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANDUNG -- President Joko Widodo said here on Monday that assets worth Rp9.27 trillion have been declared under the government's tax amnesty program.
"I have been often checking and asking why they have not declared their assets even till August. They said they are still calculating their assets," he said at a tax amnesty familiarization program.
He said if someone had 100 companies, he had to count his assets one by one and so it would take time.
"It could take three weeks but I have asked them to expedite and have it done in two weeks. My feeling is that a lot of assets will be declared early in September," he said.
President Joko Widodo admitted that funds from the tax amnesty program were badly needed by the state for development of infrastructure. The state needs around Rp4,900 trillion.
"We are intensifying infrastructure development and need Rp4,900 trillion for it while our national budget could only meet Rp1,500 trillion in three years. So, we are still short of Rp3,400 trillion. Where will this money come from? It will come from here, this tax amnesty program," he said.
President Joko Widodo said he would not like to see Indonesia losing out in the competition with other countries.
"Remember that our logistic cost is 2.5 times that of Singapore and Malaysia because our infrastructure such as roads, airports and seaports is not ready and that makes the cost high. This is why we are intensifying our infrastructure development. We want to compete with other countries," he said.
Besides raising infrastructure buildings, funds from the tax amnesty program would also be used to boost the rupiah exchange rate, he said.
He said the funds repatriated as a result of tax amnesty scheme would also add to the state's foreign exchange reserves. "Although the funds declared so far have only reached Rp9.27 trillion, they have helped increase our foreign exchange reserves to US$111 billion from previously US$103 billion," he remarked.
President Joko Widodo said the tax amnesty program would also increase banks' liquidity and boost economic growth as well as state income.
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