Reuters, JAKARTAIndonesian Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati yesterday proposed new duties on sweetened drinks, vehicles that emit carbon dioxide and plastic bags, to control consumption of the products in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. The proposal comes amid weak tax collection after the economy grew at its slowest pace in three years last year. Indrawati also brought up again her 2017 proposal to impose an excise tax of 200 rupiah per bag on plastic bags, which parliament has not yet approved. The levy, though small, could halve Indonesia’s consumption of plastic bags to 53,533 tonnes a year, she said. The total additional revenue expected from all three measures per fiscal year is 23.56 trillion rupiah — 1.61 trillion rupiah from plastic bags, 6.25 trillion rupiah from drinks and 15.7 trillion rupiah from vehicles, she said.

Source: Taipei Times February 19, 2020 15:56 UTC