Peeking Tax Incentives Help the Community

Quoting from the https://covid19.go.id/peta-sebaran page, as of July 13, 2021, it is known that there are 2,567,630 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Indonesia. You can imagine how much money the government needs to deal with this condition. Local governments are already very overwhelmed with it.

This deteriorating situation, according to Gadjah Mada University epidemiologist Bayu Satria Wiratama, is not only caused by the new variant, but also by the behavior of people who are starting to ignore health protocols.

According to Baker, SR in his journal entitled “Covid-Induced Economic Uncertainty” it was written that the Covid-19 pandemic had created a significant systemic economic shock, surpassing the global financial crisis in 2007 to 2008. In response to this condition, the government made various efforts to be able to restore the community from adversity in various affected sectors, especially the economic sector.

Economic Downturn

Indonesia has again experienced a surge in Covid-19 cases due to the entry of a new variant of the Covid-19 outbreak combined with the increasing number of people who ignore health protocols. The government once again restricts the movement of people. If previously using the nomenclature of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB), from July 3 to 20, 2021 the government determined the Enforcement of Restrictions on Community Activities (PPKM).

The determination of PPKM is expected to reduce or break the chain of spread of the Covid-19 outbreak. However, there are consequences from the implementation of the policy of limiting these activities. The social consequence that is deeply felt by the community is the cessation of economic activity that absorbs labor, especially informal sector workers.

Moreover, economic performance will also decline due to disrupted consumption, hampered investment, disrupted exports and imports and will have an impact on slowing growth in various sectors. The impact of the decline in the real sector also caused turmoil in the financial sector. In the end, all will cause social impacts that lead to an increase in the number of poor people.

Tax Incentive

In the Government Financial Reporting in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic issued by The World Bank, it is stated that the economic shock of the coronavirus outbreak has had an unprecedented impact on public finances. The government implemented a massive fiscal package including budgetary and non-budgetary measures to combat the pandemic while revenues fell sharply.

Communicating the financial consequences of Covid-19 to all stakeholders in a timely manner is critical to creating the resilience of broad support. The same condition also occurs in Indonesia.

The resulting economic and social shocks triggered the government to then issue policies in the form of the National Economic Recovery (PEN) program. The PEN program is designed to restore the Indonesian economy by protecting the poor and vulnerable to poverty and supporting the business world so that they do not get worse.

The government has allocated IDR 677.2 trillion for the cost of this program. The amount of allocation of funds provided indicates the seriousness of the government in helping the community to get back up. One of the policy measures for handling and recovery is directed at the demand side by maintaining consumption, encouraging investment, and supporting export-import.

In fact, the government has made various programs to accelerate the recovery of people’s conditions starting from social protection programs, Productive Assistance for Micro Enterprises (BUPM), labor-intensive programs of ministries/agencies, tax incentive programs, and vaccination programs in stages.

The five major programs designed by the government run together to create a conducive climate for the community to rise after the pandemic. One of the programs issued immediately after the pandemic was the tax incentive program which was established at the end of March 2020 through the Minister of Finance Regulation number 23/PMK.03/2020 concerning Tax Incentives for Taxpayers Affected by the Corona Virus Outbreak.

The regulation was last amended by Regulation of the Minister of Finance Number 9/PMK.03/2021. The incentives provided include:

– PPh Article 21 borne by the government (DTP),

– PPh Article 22 imports,

– Reduction of Article 25 Income Tax installments,

– MSME Final PPh,

– Preliminary refund of VAT.

The provision of incentives is prioritized to help taxpayers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and those who have businesses related to the provision of facilities, facilities and infrastructure in the context of recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. Various efforts were carried out to massively convey information about this tax incentive through various media, both print, online, and electronic media.

The government fully supports so that taxpayers can continue to run their business. So that later after the pandemic ends, it is hoped that taxpayers will be able to operate normally and return to profit. It is also expected that taxpayers have the ability and high awareness to contribute to development through active involvement in paying taxes and reporting their business honestly.

This is very important, because taxes in Indonesia are the main pillar of the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN), so that this country can finance the daily life of its people, build infrastructure, provide public facilities, education, health, security, religion, tourism, the environment, and protection. social.