REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has asked members of Real Estate Indonesia (REI) to join the government's tax amnesty program, because the taxpayers' number taking part in the program in the first period was still small.

"We hope that taxpayers would join the tax amnesty program in the second period. I call on the REI members who have not yet joined it to take part in it. After all, its redemption tariff is still low, namely three percent," the head of state said while attending the 15th National Meeting of REI in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The president said that the implementation of the tax amnesty program in the first period, which ended on September 30, 2017, was the most successful program in the world. "The value of the asset declaration reached Rp3,480 trillion, which is expected to be invested in the property sector," he said.

But when examining the data, the president said that the participants of the program in the first period were still relatively small. "The number of participants in the first period is still below five percent of the total number of taxpayers. There are still 95 percent taxpayers whom I still have to hunt, so that all will be clear and clean in the taxation sector," Jokowi asserted.

On the occasion, he also asked the REI members to remain focused on developing houses for low-income people. "The backlog in the housing sector still reaches 11.8 million units. We should push for the development of houses for low-income people, so that the shortage of 11.8 million units would be covered," Jokowi stated.

He said that Indonesia's economy now is relatively strong, where its growth reached 5.0 percent. "Compared to the economic growth in other countries, we are still behind India and China. We are in the third position with a growth of 5.18 percent. This growth should be utilized to boost the growth of the property sector," he asserted.

According to the head of state, inflation is also under control at below 3.5 percent, indicating that commodity prices are well curbed. Jokowi also pointed out that the 13th economic policy package on housing development has also been implemented, including the simplification of licensing. "The needed licensing permits have been streamlined from 13 to 11. If there is problem in the field, please let me know," he said.

He explained that the main objectives of the 13th economic policy package were to develop houses that are within the financial reach of low-income people. "The program should not be misled from its main objectives, such as houses being bought for re-investment or for a second or a third house ownership," he noted.

However, the president admitted that there is a government regulation (PP) as needed, based on the economic policy package, which has not yet been accomplished. "Before I came here, I checked the whereabouts. It was no longer at the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing. The PP draft has been sent to the office of the chief economic minister who promised to issue it in December 2016," he said.

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