JAKARTA, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian lawmakers on Tuesday approved a tax amnesty bill offering low payment rates for taxpayers with funds abroad as part of the government's attempts to raise annual tax revenue.
Indonesia's House of Representatives agreed on tax rates between 2 percent and 5 percent for those who declare their assets and repatriate them. Meanwhile, the rates are between 4 percent and 10 percent for assets kept abroad.
The new law also allows small- and medium-sized businesses to enjoy redemption tariffs at 0.5 percent for declared wealth below 10 billion rupiah (around 754,000 U.S. dollars), and 2 percent for declared wealth above 10 billion.
In comparison, personal income tax rates in Indonesia currently range from 5 percent to 30 percent, while that of businesses stand at a rate of up to 25 percent.
The government expects the amnesty law to help rake in 165 trillion rupiah of state revenue, which will increase revenue by 11 percent.
Indonesia's top finance official said last week the government has also considered setting up a tax haven island for local and foreign companies seeking offshore business as a bid to keep their funds in the country, following the approval of the new law.
