Indonesia's Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has reiterated that the government has no plans to introduce a tax amnesty during his tenure as finance minister.
Instead, Purbaya is pushing for improvements to the tax collection system to increase state revenue. He said the approach would be more effective and carry fewer risks than reintroducing a tax amnesty.
“As I have said before, there will be no tax amnesty as long as I am finance minister,” Purbaya said in Jakarta on Thursday (Sept. 3, 2026).
He explained that a tax amnesty could create problems down the road, particularly for tax officials and other parties involved in the tax administration process. Data used in implementing a tax amnesty could also remain subject to audits several years later.
Purbaya therefore believes the government would be better off strengthening the existing tax collection system rather than granting tax relief to taxpayers.
“As of now, there are no plans for a tax amnesty. For me, it would put tax officials at a disadvantage because the data could still be audited several years later,” he said.
Tax Revenue Surges
Purbaya said tax revenue through the end of July 2026 had increased by nearly 30 percent compared with the same period last year.
According to him, the growth indicates that state revenue remains strong. Tax revenue growth had previously been recorded in negative territory last year.
“Through the end of July this year (2026), growth was nearly 30 percent compared with last year. Last year, growth was negative. So our revenue is also strong, not weak,” he said.
Purbaya stressed that the increase in revenue had not been achieved through higher tax rates. Instead, the government has focused on internal improvements, enhancing the quality of human resources, and reducing leakages in the tax system.
“Our revenue is indeed above the initial projection, and that happened without an increase in the tax rate,” he said.
One of the measures taken by the Ministry of Finance has been to evaluate tax officials deemed problematic. Purbaya said officials who fail to meet the required standards would be replaced, while work processes within the tax administration would continue to be improved.
“I dismissed tax officials who were acting improperly. Tax officials are now performing much better,” Purbaya said.
Rotating Tax Officials
In addition to evaluating employees, the Ministry of Finance has rotated tax officials at various levels. The changes have involved echelon II, III, and IV officials.
Purbaya said the rotations were based on evaluations of each official’s performance. Officials considered to have performed well were assigned to regions or offices that play a significant role in tax revenue collection.
Conversely, officials whose performance was deemed unsatisfactory could be transferred from their previous positions.
“People already know that tax collection has often suffered leakages here and there. So I checked. Almost all tax officials, from echelon II to echelon III and IV, were reviewed. I reshuffled them,” he said.
According to Purbaya, the restructuring is part of efforts to improve tax collection quickly. The government is also involving law enforcement agencies in efforts to strengthen oversight and improve tax administration.
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