Minister of Finance Strictly After First Year of Startup Paying Taxes

road map (The roadmap) e-commerce, which is in the process of being finalized at the level of the relevant ministries and government agencies, still harbors uneasiness about tax matters. Minister of Finance Bambang Brodjonegoro believes that startups that have run their business after the first year, are obliged to pay taxes if the business is profitable.

"Yes, if you make a profit, you pay taxes. If you don't make a profit, you don't pay taxes," said Bambang Cash.

Previously, several startup actors asked for tax relief. In response to this, the Minister of Finance was reluctant to comment regarding the need for a time lag (grace periods) exemption from tax payment obligations.

Currently, many startup actors are aware of the obligation to pay taxes for the businesses they run, but startups ask that these payments can be postponed and not charged for now.

The Ministry of Finance still considers it important for startup actors to pay taxes, especially for those whose business turnover is below Rp 5 billion per year. The tax imposed is the same as for other SMEs, which is 1%.

As emphasized by the Secretary of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Lukita Dinarsyah Tuwo, who also serves as leader e-commerce deregulation matters:

"There are several ministries that have not (provided a response). Well (about taxation), we have not received this yet. Regarding taxes, we ask for a response from the Ministry of Finance, especially for startup businesses."

Until now there has been no meeting point between the government and business actors related to tax regulations that should be established.