TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said Indonesia was facing tough challenges in building a good information and data management system. One of them emerges from the large amount of identity numbers belonging to each resident.

Indonesian people, she explained, could have 40 different identity numbers such as a National Identification Number (NIK), passport number, up to a taxpayer identification number (NPWP).

“Each identity number has its own system spread across various institutions and agencies. The Customs and Excise Directorate General of the Finance Ministry has their own identity numbers that are different from citizens’ numbers for taxes,” said Sri in a national webinar held by Pelita Harapan University on Friday, May 27, 2021.

These excessive amounts of identity numbers have created difficulties for the government to conduct data integration and use them for analysis purposes.

According to Sri, the government needs a common identifier in building data integration as it will ease the government to gather information related to transactions, assets, or other information from taxpayers. Besides, data integration is useful to assess the compliance of taxpayers.

She continued to say that the Finance Ministry was trying to integrate data, especially in the financial sector, which is in line with the government's initiative to carry out a one-data program as stipulated in Presidential Regulation No. 39 of 2019.

“The need for a unique identity is a requirement for getting more organized, consistent data that are able to contain important information,” said Sri Mulyani.

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FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA