Scary Steps to Boost Income from Excise Duty

The House of Representatives (DPR) approved the government's plan to impose excise duty on plastic products, Wednesday (19/2). The product to be levied is the plastic bag, locally known as kantong kresek, which will be subject to excise of Rp 200 per sheet or Rp 30 thousand per kilogram. Other plastic products will also be subject to excise, even though the type of product and the tariff has not been established.

Besides plastic, the government also proposes excise duty on sweetened drinks, such as packaged tea, packaged coffee, and carbonated beverages. Another proposal is to impose excise duty on carbon dioxide emissions. The taxable objects are motor vehicles that produce carbon emissions.

However, the proposed excise duty on plastic and emissions has not yet received approval from the DPR. The parliament asked the Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati to draft a road map for the expansion of the excise object first. Chances are there will be some other products that are subject to excise duty.