The Government Cancels Plans to Impose VAT on Toll Roads and Taxes on the Wealthy. Here’s Why!

JAKARTA. The government has confirmed that it will not introduce new types of taxes in the near future. Plans to impose Value Added Tax (VAT) on toll roads, as well as an additional tax on high-income groups, have been shelved.

The Minister of Finance, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, stated that the decision was made in consideration of economic conditions that are still in the recovery phase.

“So, our position has not changed. We will not impose additional taxes until the economy is considered sufficiently strong and people’s purchasing power has adequately recovered,” Purbaya said during a media briefing in Jakarta on Friday (24/4), as quoted by Kontan.co.id.

According to him, the government is currently prioritizing the preservation of public purchasing power. The introduction of new taxes will only be considered once economic conditions show significant improvement.

Economic Stability as the Main Consideration

Purbaya emphasized that household consumption is one of the key indicators in determining fiscal policy direction. As long as purchasing power has not fully recovered, the government prefers to hold back policies that could increase the tax burden.

He also revealed that the tax proposals did not originate from policies formulated under his leadership.

“That was from the previous administration. That’s why we are making gradual adjustments to make things more structured,” he said.

Previously, the plan to impose VAT on toll roads was included in the Strategic Plan of the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) for 2025–2029 as part of efforts to broaden the tax base. In addition, the idea of an additional tax for high-income individuals had also been discussed in draft tax policy proposals.

However, to date, all of these plans remain at the discourse stage and have not been formalized into official policy.
The government stressed that any future tax policies will be designed with careful consideration of economic conditions and public readiness. (KEN)