Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, has put to rest the recent controversy surrounding the potential increase in entertainment taxes.
“It’s already the end of the story. So, Alhamdulillah, thanks to input from all stakeholders, the President has given directions, and there will be no increase in entertainment taxes,” said Sandiaga Uno during his visit to Badung, Bali, on Tuesday (1/30/2024) evening.
According to Sandiaga, based on these directives, local governments can implement their own policies, ranging from incentives to exemptions, ensuring that entertainment businesses are not burdened.
“So, the pattern has now been successfully conveyed to local governments to provide incentives, reductions, exemptions, and eliminations so that the perceived 40 percent burden can be returned to the pre-2023 levels,” he explained.
Previously reported, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, met with the Acting Governor of Bali, Sang Made Mahendra Jaya, to discuss entertainment taxes. As a result, the implementation of the tax hike has been postponed for the time being.
“Yes, indeed, I heard about it yesterday, and I immediately gathered relevant agencies to discuss the issue, including the Governor of Bali and others, so we decided to postpone the implementation for now,” said Luhut in a video uploaded to his Instagram account on Wednesday (1/17/2024).
Luhut mentioned that Law Number 1 of 2022 regarding the Financial Relations between the Central Government and Regional Governments (HKPD) did not originate from the government but from the DPR Commission XI.
Therefore, he has decided to evaluate and conduct a judicial review or material review by the Constitutional Court (MK).
