Entrepreneurs Urge Govt to Review 75% Entertainment Tax on Spa Industry

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Wellness Spa Professional Association (IWSPA) chairperson, Yulia Himawati, asked the government to review certain regulations on the entertainment tax of between 40 and 75 percent, especially in the spa industry.

These tax rules are included in Law No. 1 of 2022 on the financial relations between the central government and regional governments (UU HKPD).

“Hopefully, it will be processed soon. The Legislative Body of the DPR (House of Representatives) has to review the law. But it will indeed take quite a long time,” Yulia said at a press conference in South Jakarta, on Thursday, January 18.

She mentioned that the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan had asked for a postponement of the 40-75 percent tax hike on entertainment establishments such as discotheques, karaoke lounges, and spas. So regional regulations are expected to follow this decision.

Yulia also expressed disappointment on behalf of spa entrepreneurs that the spa industry was categorized as entertainment, and therefore, subject to 40-75 percent tax. This classification was in contrast to the Tourism Minister’s Regulation No. 11/2019 which clearly designated spas as part of the wellness industry.

Agnes Lourda Hutagalung, the chairperson of the Wellness Healthcare Entrepreneur Association (WHEA), also claimed that the government had never consulted with her party regarding the regulation. “The government did not communicate it with the industry players,” she stressed.

According to her, the WHEA had visited the DPR to discuss the tax issue, but the DPR had talked to the relevant ministry, which in this case the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy. The WHEA has also tried to reach the ministry but has not yet received a response.

MOH. KHORY ALFARIZI

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