Friday, December 3, 2010

Warteg Tax

Warung Tegal (Warteg) originated from the words Warung i.e a small and simple place that sells cheap foods/drinks, and Tegal i.e name of a  town in Central Java.

In Jakarta and vicinity, Warteg is very popularly known as small and simple places that sell cheap foods/drinks on the sides of streets, where people of low-to-medium level income eat and drink.

But next year, the prices of food and drinks in Warteg would not be as cheap as they used to be, because starting 1 January, the Provincial government of Jakarta plans to collect Tax of 10% on every food and drinks sold there.

According to an officer of the Jakarta Tax Service Agency, there are now are now around 2,000 Warteg in Jakarta, but based on the Regional Tax Law No. 28/2009, only those who earn an income of Rp 60 Million a year or Rp 5 Million a month will be taxed. Right now the agency is still studying how many Warteg will be taxed, but they expect to collect Rp 50 Billion from Warteg.

This plan has been protested by many people including members of parliament of Jakarta who demanded that the minimum taxable income should be higher and starting date of collection should be postponed. .

In reaction to the protests, the Governor of Jakarta Fauzi Bowo said that the the Warteg Tax plan is still not fixed.

I hope that the Warteg Tax plan would be reviewed very carefully especially because consumers of Warteg are people of low-to-medium level income. 

Sources :
Warung Tegal Kena Pajak 10% (Pajak.com)
Warung Kecil Jangan Dibebani Pajak (Kompas)
Fauzi Bowo : Pajak Warteg Baru Wacana (VIVAnews)

Photo:  Courtesy of Antara

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Although I'm in no position
to comment on the laws in
your country, it seems to
me that everywhere in the
world it's the poor and
middle class that is getting
taxed while the rich get away
with everything !

People talk about how good
capitalism is..bla bla bla..
but at the same time the
rich are getting richer and
the poor are become more
peniless each day.

I can emphatise with what
people in Jakarta feel. Taxing
air-con restaurants, yes...but
when a warong (food stall)....
a poor man's place to eat gets
taxed it's another thing
altogether. It's already hard
enough ekeing out an honest
living and now you wanna tax
me when i eat...

And what are the politicians
doing ? Hiding in their desks
counting money, while their
"perut buncit" keeps getting
fatter and fatter each day..

And they still wanna tax us...*_*

Setyo-Utomo Said said...

Mas Harry, I begin to have headache after reading your article ! Pusing !
Pusing ! Pusing !

Unknown said...

selamat pagi kawan
met beraktifitas aja ya

NTRage03 said...

ya kasian klo kena pajak,
tpi mw gmna lagi ??

Aulawi Ahmad said...

I do not know what can say but that policy can make the new "Gayus" hehehe

colson said...

I'm all for taxing - strict and fair ( that is no taxes for the poorest, very high taxes for the richest individuals and companies). So let's second Bear Wife's comment.

I'm afraid though that the tax-monster will eat the Wartegs..

berpikir positif said...

That means I can eat a cheap food in Jakarta again

Foto Pinrang said...

better they get tax from the rich man

Ferdinand said...

Saya termasuk yg gak setuju sama peraturan ini, soalnya biarpun dibilang itu untuk keperluan pembangunan Jakarta tapi tetep aja yg dirugikan rakyat kecil juga.... klo Rumah Makan Padang sih kayanya masih Wajar untuk dikenakan Pajak tapi klo Warteg sepiring lengkap aja paling cuma 5 Rb masa masih mau dimintain Pajak.....

Semangat n happy weekend Kawan.. :p

Unknown said...

@Bear Wife,
I agree with your opinion.
Actually people would not be so vocal in rejecting the tax if it was not announced at this moment. People are now very sick and tired of tax mafia case now tried at the court.

@Pak Utomo,
Yes this news is making us pusing.

@Imtikhan,
Terima kasih atas kunjungan dan komentarnya.

@Aciid,
Waktunya yang salah. Saat ini orang muak dengan penyelewenagan pajak yang sedang disidangkan.

@Aulawi Ahmad,
That's what people are afraid of, that the tax revenue would be corrupted.

@Colson,
It would be great if the poor are not taxed and the rich are taxed very high.

@Berpikir Positif,
Benar demikian, karena sepertinya pemerintah Jakarta akan meninjau ulang rencana tersebut.

@Foto Pinrang,
Yes it would be better that way.

@Ferdinand,
Saya setuju dengan anda, mudah2an aturannya ditunda.
Terima kasih.

Ria Tumimomor said...

YEah, yeah...Warteg get taxed, then maybe warung will be next, oh and not to mention next year we have to use premix instead of premium... Seriously... living in Indonesia is getting harder and harder...
But they never bother about traffic jam, flood, robbers, muggers, pick pocket.. Bleh...

Unknown said...

Hi Ria/Dream Catcher,
We will be facing tough time with the govt's plan to stop fuel subsidy for private vehicles.
We can only hope that the tax revenue will be used merely for the people's best interests.