Only around 200,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) or 8.7 percent of 2.3 million enterprises with taxpayer identity numbers (NPWP) have applied for tax incentives.
By
SHARON PATRICIA
·5 minutes read
Only around 200,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) or 8.7 percent of 2.3 million enterprises with taxpayer identity numbers (NPWP) have applied for tax incentives. The popularization of this exemption should be intensified to ensure MSMEs’ business survival.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Tax incentives in the form of 0.5 percent final income tax exemption until September 2020 have not yet been optimally utilized by businesspersons. Its popularization among business players should be stepped up.
As of Monday (13/7/2020), only about 200,000 MSMEs or 8.7 percent of 2.3 million enterprises possessing NPWP had submitted applications for incentives to the government. In fact, the incentives are made available from April to September 2020.
Overall, the national economic restoration (PEN) budget for MSMEs amounts to Rp123.46 trillion. Of the total, the final income tax (PPh) exemption incentives provided for MSMEs amount to Rp2.4 trillion.
The final PPh exemption policy is stipulated in Finance Ministerial Regulation No.44/2020 on Tax Incentives for Taxpayers Impacted by the Covid-19 Pandemic. The incentives are granted to Covid-19-impacted MSMEs with turnovers of not more than Rp4.8 billion per year or less than Rp400 million per month.
The director general of taxation of the Tax Directorate, Finance Ministry, Suryo Utomo, said the tax incentives were meant as an attempt to maintain the business continuity of MSMEs, especially the sectors impacted by Covid-19, such as tourism and processing industries.
“The implementation of this policy will be further evaluated and we will review which sectors are actually impacted and undergoing contraction with the outbreak of Covid-19. Hopefully within a week or two we will have compiled fixed data,” said Suryo.
This assessment was made at the webinar themed “Encouraging MSMEs to Utilize Tax Incentives”. It was attended by resource persons, including Production and Marketing Deputy of the Cooperatives and SMEs Ministry, Victoria br Simanungkalit, Digital Economy Chairman of the Indonesian E-Commerce Association Bima Laga and founder of Little Thoughts Planner Ola Harika.
Besides, Suryo raised the question as to why only about 200,000 MSME players had benefited from the tax incentives. “The method of registration is actually simple, which can be directly done via the website. We will keep communicating the presence of tax payment exemption until September 2020 and its possible extension until December 2020,” he said.
In the incentive promotion effort, Suryo indicated the possibility of collaborating with the Cooperatives and SMEs Ministry, business associations and also MSME players. This cooperation is intended as an attempt to motivate MSMEs in order to understand and capable of utilizing the tax incentives already budgeted.
“This government program should really reach the bottom level and it becomes our homework. We will thus be trying to reach them and this is expected to be achieved through popularization, so that none of them will be scared as they hear the word taxation,” added Suryo.
Collaboration
Victoria br Simanungkalit welcomed the collaboration bid to popularize the tax incentive program for MSMEs. It’s because so far education in taxation has indeed constituted a challenge to business players in various regions.
“MSMEs still have limited understanding of the benefit of being taxpayers. If possible, collaboration should be undertaken in regions between tax and cooperatives offices for the active popularization of tax matters,” she said.
Guidance, according to Victoria, today becomes the focus of the Cooperatives and SMEs Ministry as a critical point to carry out development. To this end, there should be holistic counseling for MSMEs ranging from how to conduct business development to the obligation of tax payment.
Not only through the government, guidance for MSMEs can also come from partnership with large corporations. This assistance is expected to facilitate MSME players’ marketing activity.
Therefore, taxation popularization is not only limited to MSMEs but also large companies arranging partnership with them. Information is needed to distinguish between taxation for the companies providing guidance and taxation for MSMEs.
“It can also be directly cut through cooperation between large and small businesses that have combined taxation for payment by the large ones. This can serve as part of the strategy for the future development of MSMEs,” said Victoria.
Bima Laga also appreciated the tax incentives for MSMEs impacted by Covid-19. However, incentive propagation indeed poses a challenge to make business players even more maximally benefit from this program.
“There should be an effective way of promoting the scheme, such as by empowering business associations that provide information for their members. This move is expected to be able to disseminate information even faster,” said Bima.
Ola Harika, an entrepreneur engaged in event organizing services, claimed to have not yet utilized the tax incentives, because she had not received clear information about the final PPh exemption for businesses impacted by Covid-19.
“As I heard of taxation, I felt as if I’d been made a defendant, but this program turns out to be beneficial. So I’m going to register right away. I hope future counseling can be conducted through persuasion so that we (businesspersons) will be pleased to pay tax and understand its advantage,” said Ola.