TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The state has suffered Rp19 trillion of financial losses, higher than the state revenues received from the forest, which stand at Rp1.25 trillion, according to the Manager of Advocate Department of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI), Mukri Friatna, Friday.

According to Mukri, there are four fundamental factors that have led to the loss.

First, rampant illegal logging activities in the forests all over the country; second, the government’s mistake in designating forest management as the non-tax state revenues; third, the operation of mining companies in the forests; and fourth, unorganized granting of granted industrial forest permits (HTI) and production forest concessions (HPH).

Mukri also underlined the issue of forest management through the mechanism of the controversial non-tax revenues.

"So far, the system that applies to the businessmen is the payment of royalties; hence it cannot force them to pay [taxes] regularly," Mukri said.

Due to the government’s lenient stand in formulating regulations in terms of state revenues and forest management, at least 700 companies operating in the forests in Kalimantan have no tax identification numbers (NPWP), Mukri added.

"Having no NPWP means they do not have to pay taxes from their business in the forest and all of them are mining companies," said Mukri.

RAYMUNDUS RIKANG R.W.