JIMBARAN – The imposition of a certain business tax of 1% of turnover on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is expected to boost SME capital. Erwin Aksa, Chairman of the Small Medium Enterprises and Entrepreneur (SMEE) Committee of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), said that this tax makes access to banking easier.
In addition, the 1% tax on SMEs also increases available capital, as they gain access to cheaper financing compared to other businesses. "Not only does access to banking become easier, but with the SME tax they also pay less tax and increase their capital," explained Erwin.
According to him, the socialization of this tax imposition must be continuously intensified by the government, because SMEs do not fully understand the policy that was newly launched on July 1, 2013. Moreover, implementation relief should be provided for up to three years.
"SME taxes need to be more widely socialized; the government must explain it to SMEs that are not yet able to implement this policy well. In fact, the Directorate General of Taxes has already granted a two to three-year relief period in reports so that no penalties are imposed," he explained.
It should be noted that the government imposed this specific business tax on SMEs at a rate of 1% of turnover on July 1, 2013. This is based on Government Regulation Number 46 of 2013 concerning Income Tax on Income from Business Received or Earned by Taxpayers with Certain Gross Turnover.
This tax imposition applies to SMEs whose gross annual revenue is from Rp 0 up to Rp 4.8 billion. If their turnover exceeds this amount, business operators will be subject to the usual income tax.
(Source: Finance Today, October 7, 2013)