Ni Made Tasyarani, Premium – The state budget deficit widened in November amid declining revenue and a year-end spending push.
During the monthly press conference on the state budget on Thursday, the Finance Ministry said state revenue as of November reached Rp 2.3 quadrillion (US$137.6 billion), or 82.1 percent of the full-year outlook. The figure marked a 5.67 percent decline from the same period last year, with total tax revenue down 2.18 percent year-on-year (yoy) to Rp 1.9 quadrillion and nontax revenue plunging 14.8 percent yoy.
Total state spending reached Rp 2.9 quadrillion, or 82.5 percent of the budget ceiling.
The budget deficit stood at Rp 560.3 trillion, or 2.35 percent of GDP, wider than the 2.02 percent recorded in October, though Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said the deficit "remains within manageable limits and in line with the state budget design".
The figure remains below the full-year projection of 2.78 percent of GDP, a midyear upward revision from the original 2.53 percent outlined in the 2025 state budget plan.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast a deficit of 2.8 percent of GDP for Indonesia this year, which is in line with the government's projection. However, the IMF expects the figure to rise to 2.9 percent next year, whereas the government plans to reduce the budget deficit to 2.68 percent.
Earlier on Monday, Purbaya said the ministry could not guarantee that the revenue shortfall would remain within the 2.78 percent as stipulated in this year's budget outlook.