Grace D. Amianti, Jakarta – The government collected only 86.9 percent of the revenue targeted in the 2016 state budget as a result of a weak economy.
Revenue collection reached Rp 1.55 quadrillion (US$115.1 billion) by the end of last year, lower than the Rp 1.78 quadrillion set in the 2016 state budget, according to Finance Ministry data.
Tax revenue collection reached 83.4 percent of the Rp 1.53 quadrillion target. However, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said collected revenue was 3.5 percent higher than the 2015 figure, thanks to a 14 percent increase in non-oil and gas income tax.
"Tax amnesty penalty payments contributed Rp 107 trillion to the revenue. Without the tax amnesty, non-oil and gas income tax would have been 4.9 percent lower," she said in a press conference on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, spending reached Rp 1.85 quadrillion, equal to 89.3 percent of the Rp 2.08 quadrillion set in the 2016 state budget. Spending by ministries and other government institutions reached 88.3 percent of the target, but 100.8 percent of the 2015 figure.
The Joko "Jokowi" Widodo administration introduced austerity measures last year through a Rp 137 trillion state budget cut in early August and called for efficiency measures in less important spending. The budget deficit by the end of 2016 stood at 2.46 percent, higher than the target of 2.35 percent. (bbn)