• News

The realization of Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue from trade through the Electronic System (PMSE) or digital tax throughout 2023 amounted to only Rp6.76 trillion, considered disproportionate to the e-commerce transaction value of Rp453.75 trillion. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) urges the government to pay special attention.

Bank Indonesia (BI) recorded the realization of the e-commerce transaction value at Rp453.75 trillion throughout 2023. This value was lower than BI's target of Rp474 trillion and also lower than the 2022 realization of Rp476.3 trillion.

The low realization of e-commerce transaction values is accompanied by the suboptimal tax revenue from this sector. The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) believes that the suboptimal potential tax revenue in the e-commerce sector requires special attention from the government.

Recorded VAT revenue from trade through the Electronic System (PMSE) or digital tax throughout 2023 was only Rp6.76 trillion, while in the same year, Bank Indonesia recorded e-commerce transactions reaching Rp453.75 trillion. With a 11% VAT rate, the potential VAT revenue from PMSE last year reached Rp49.91 trillion. This means there is untapped tax potential of Rp43.15 trillion.

Sarman Simanjorang, Vice Chairman 1 of Kadin Indonesia, stated that this indicates the government's inability to collect taxes from e-commerce transactions amounting to Rp453.75 trillion.

"Out of the many transactions, many go undetected. This means there are weaknesses in the [tax] collection system," said Sarman, as quoted from Bisnis.com on Tuesday (23/1/2024). Therefore, the government, particularly the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu) and the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag), need to conduct an evaluation so that taxes from e-commerce transactions can be collected by the government.

Sarman also proposes that the government create a digital system or platform where taxes can be automatically collected from e-commerce transactions by the government. The existence of such a platform also represents potential additional revenue for the government. In this way, he hopes that optimal tax revenue will be able to meet various needs of the Indonesian people. "So, I think the government needs to ensure that all online transactions are taxed by the government," he concluded.

IN