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Today's Headlines DPR
Considering the news seemed to have gone viral across the globe it is certainly worth devoting attention to Indonesia’s new Criminal Code (Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana, or KUHP). It is an important one because is the body of laws regulating how crimes are punished in Indonesia.
Barely two weeks after the terrorist attacks in Surabaya (East Java) and Pekanbaru (Riau) Indonesian parliament unanimously approved a new anti-terrorism law. It is actually a revision of Indonesia's 2003 Antiterrorism Law (which was regarded too weak to combat - and thwart - terrorist activities efficiently). The new bill was passed during a plenary session on Friday (25/05). The bill took more than two years of deliberation. However, the recent attacks significantly sped up the process.
Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) approved the government's proposed 2018 state budget bill in a plenary session on Wednesday (25/10), hence turning the bill into law. Taufik Kurniawan, Deputy House Speaker, announced this decision earlier today.
Indonesian Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro is optimistic that the Tax Amnesty Bill can be turned into law at the next meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR). Although not all 27 articles of the Tax Amnesty Bill have been discussed yet among both institutions, the most crucial articles have been debated and the DPR seems to agree that the bill will raise the government's tax revenue. The government and DPR agree that deliberations should be completed by 28 July 2016.
Due to the lengthy talks needed among the Indonesian government and House of Representatives (DPR) about the Tax Amnesty Bill, there may be a further delay in implementing the bill that was originally planned to be implemented in early 2016. The government's proposed Tax Amnesty Bill offers low tax rates (and protection from prosecution) to those who declare untaxed wealth and repatriate their funds back to Indonesia. Through this bill the government aims to finance the widening budget deficit and obtain fresh tax revenue.
According to local media, Commission IV of Indonesia's House of Representatives and the central Indonesian government agree to temporarily suspend development of the land reclamation project off the coast of North Jakarta as seven violations of Indonesian law occurred during the process. Authorities want to undertake a more thorough study before construction continues. Herman Khaeron, Vice Chairman of Commission IV, claims Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (better known as Ahok) has issued construction permits too soon without having a legal basis. Earlier, a corruption case related to this mega-project had made headlines.
Late on Friday evening (30/10), after 11 hours of discussion, Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) approved the 2016 State Budget. This is good news for the government as it now has the opportunity to reform fiscal policy and continue with its development programs. The government budget deficit is expected to rise to 2.15 percent of the country's gross domestic product (from 1.9 percent of GDP in the revised 2015 edition), a bit closer to the maximum three-percent-of-GDP rule that is allowed by Indonesian law.
The House of Representatives of Indonesia (DPR) is scheduled to meet on Thursday (22/10) to discuss the government's revised 2016 macroeconomic assumptions. In August 2015, Indonesian President Joko Widodo had unveiled the government's draft 2016 State Budget. However, due to overly optimistic assumptions, there has been the need for several revisions.
Apart from external factors (China’s weak manufacturing activity and persistent uncertainty about the timing of higher US interest rates) that plague Indonesian assets today, there are also domestic factors that push Indonesian stocks and the rupiah into the red. These domestic factors include Indonesia’s downgraded economic growth forecasts and the central bank’s downgraded rupiah outlook. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves - used to defend the rupiah - have declined further.
On Friday (14/08) the Indonesian government unveiled its 2016 State Budget draft at a session in the House of Representatives (DPR). The draft is important as it shows government targets regarding the macroeconomy of Indonesia and it shows on what fields the government will focus in terms of public spending. The government - led by Indonesian President Joko Widodo - is optimistic that economic growth will finally rebound after four years of slowing economic growth as its 2016 GDP growth target was set at 5.5 percent (y/y).
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The COVID-19 pandemic made governments around the world impose severe social and business restrictions, thus contributing heavily to the unprecedented decline in economic activity. To maintain society’s support, governments subsequently had to spend heavily on social assistance, soft loans, and various fiscal incentives to keep most businesses alive and allow poorer segments of society to have enough to eat.
In a plenary session on Tuesday (28/06), Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) passed the controversial Tax Amnesty Bill into law as well as the revised 2016 state budget. The Indonesian government will be relieved to see the Tax Amnesty Bill come into effect on 1 July 2016 (ending in May 2017) as it expects the bill to boost tax revenue this year by IDR 165 trillion (approx. USD $12.4 billion). Through tax incentives and the pardoning of tax crimes, the tax amnesty program makes it attractive for tax evaders to declare their offshore assets and repatriate these into Indonesia.
After being in negative territory for quite a while, the benchmark stock index of Indonesia (Jakarta Composite Index) finished 0.13 percent higher at the end of the trading day. In line with the major stock indices in the Asia-Pacific region, Indonesia’s main index climbed although gains were limited as investors are concerned about failed discussions between the Greek government and its creditors in the Eurozone. However, positive sentiments were still felt due to capital injections in Indonesian state-owned companies.
More and more concerns have arisen recently regarding the democratic future of Indonesia. In fact, some media have reported that an impeachment of president-elect Joko Widodo, who will assume office on 20 October 2014, could become a reality as opposition in parliament - led by controversial and vindictive former army general Prabowo Subianto - is large. The Merah-Putih coalition, referring to the coalition of political parties that supported Subianto in the presidential election (which he narrowly lost to Widodo) will control 353 of the 560 seats in parliament.
Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) approved the 2015 State Budget on Monday (29/09) that was proposed by the outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono administration. The budget deficit is now set at IDR 245.9 trillion (USD $20.5 billion), equivalent to 2.21 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), and lower than the 2.32 percent of GDP proposed by the government in both the Financial Memorandum and the Revised 2015 State Budget. However, the accepted budget deficit is still high compared to previous years.
Indonesian parliament (DPR) decided not to limit foreign ownership in Indonesian insurance companies. Currently, foreigners can have an 80 percent stake in a local insurance company. A new insurance bill on this matter is expected to be passed in a plenary session next month. This bill will enable foreign investors to continue to own local insurance companies through the share-purchase mechanism at the Indonesia stock exchange (IDX). Another important point in the new bill involves the legal entity of the local insurance firm.
In a plenary session of Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) on Wednesday evening (18/06), the parliament approved the government’s proposed revised state budget of 2014 (RAPBN-P 2014). Prior to this approval, the revision had already been discussed for a month between the House of Representatives’ Budget Committee (Banggar) and the government. Almost all components of the 2014 State Budget have been revised from the government’s earlier assumptions.
Although several quick counts of today's legislative election in Indonesia still continue, the big picture is clear. The current opposition party PDI-P will win Indonesia's 2014 parliamentary election, followed by Golkar and Gerindra. This is no surprise as most surveys that were released ahead of the election indicated that these three political parties would be the major contenders. As a whole, the election went relatively smoothly, with only a few minor incidents. The official result will be announced on 9 May 2014.
On Wednesday 9 April 2014, the Indonesian electorate (consisting of about 190 million people out of a total population of around 250 million) will vote for both the country's national and regional legislatures. This legislative election also bears a big influence on the presidential election that is scheduled for 9 July 2014 as a minimum of 25 percent of the popular vote in the legislative election (or 20 percent of seats in the House of Representatives, DPR) gives a party the authority to nominate a presidential candidate.
Asep Sugiharta, an official at the Ministry of Forestry, said that a new bill has been submitted to Indonesia's parliament (DPR) which is expected to open up the potential for geothermal power development in Indonesia. Currently, geothermal exploitation is lawfully defined as a 'mining activity' (Law No. 27 2003) and therefore prohibited to be conducted in protected forest and conservation areas (Law No. 41 1999), even though geothermal mining activities have a relatively small impact on the environment (compared to other mining activities).
