Anastasya Lavenia Yudi, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo has inaugurated Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, the former Chair of the Board of Commissioners of the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS), as the Finance Minister today, Monday, September 8, 2025. Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) assesses the announcement of the replacement of Sri Mulyani Indrawati as the Finance Minister as positive news for the economy.
Celios stated that he will continue to critically and objectively monitor the new Finance Minister's policies based on data. According to Celios, the new Finance Minister has at least five key tasks.
The first task is to ensure the tax revenue strategy considers the purchasing power of middle- and lower-income groups. For example, the government could lower the VAT rate to 8 percent and increase the non-taxable income (PTKP) to Rp7 million per month. Additionally, tax policies are also expected to target the extractive sector through the coal production tax and windfall profit tax.
"In addition, wealth tax in the form of a 2 percent tax for super-rich assets is urgently needed to reduce inequality and increase state revenues," said Celios.
The second task is to ensure budget efficiency based on transparent macroeconomic studies, without disrupting public services and basic infrastructure. In addition, Celios also believes that the efficiency achieved by Sri Mulyani should be re-evaluated, as it has caused disturbances in regional transfer funds and detrimental increases in regional taxes.
The third task is to restructure government debt. This involves reducing the burden of debt interest and creating opportunities to exchange debt obligations for energy transition programs and forest, mangrove, and karst conservation. It also involves canceling harmful debts.
Fourth, the new Finance Minister needs to immediately remove the Deputy Minister and officials at the Ministry of Finance who hold concurrent positions in State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). This is because these dual positions contradict the decision of the Constitutional Court and have the potential to create conflicts of interest.
The fifth task is to evaluate all tax-related spending that is detrimental to the state's finances. According to Celios, companies that have been granted tax holidays and tax allowances must be audited, both in financial reports and the impact on employment.
"There should no longer be fiscal incentives that worsen inequality between large-scale companies and MSMEs. We also encourage periodic transparency in granting fiscal incentives to the public," said Celios.