Chairman of Commission VII of the Indonesian House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia or DPR RI), Saleh Partaonan Daulay, has proposed imposing a tax on foreign tourists entering Indonesia, though the Bali Provincial Tourism Office later pointed out that a similar policy is already in place.
As a context, Commission VII of the Indonesian House of Representatives oversees the industry, the creative economy, tourism, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and publication facilities. According to Daulay, a tax on foreign tourists is necessary to ensure that their visits are not entirely free of charge.
“Hence, the [foreigners] would not be visiting Bali for free; they still need to pay tax. Its exact amount and other details will be calculated later,” he said as quoted from the press on Wednesday, the 26th of February.
Daulay pointed out that foreign tourists can easily visit destinations in Indonesia, even with a limited budget, which results in minimal economic impact on the country.
“It turns out that even with little money, foreign tourists can still travel here. This needs to be addressed to ensure an increase in state revenue from tourism,” he added.
The Head of the Bali Provincial Tourism Office, Tjokorda Bagus Pemayun, responded to such a proposal by pointing out that Bali already has a similar policy in place—a foreign tourist levy of Rp150,000 for every foreign visitor entering the island (also known as ‘Tourism Levy’).
“Our basis for collecting this levy is Law Number 15 of 2023 concerning the Province of Bali, specifically Article 8, which states that the Bali Provincial Government has the authority to impose a foreign tourist levy,” Pemayun told the press on Wednesday as well.
However, at present, the Bali Provincial Government has not been informed of Daulay’s proposal or the specific formulation desired by the House of Representatives to impose taxes on foreign tourists visiting attractions. Hence, the Bali Provincial Tourism Office will continue to optimise the Tourism Levy based on the evaluations conducted over the past year.
“Our focus is on maximising the foreign tourist levy first and optimising the mechanism for collecting this levy. We are continuously making improvements, and that remains our priority,” Pemayun added.