TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Linda Suryani, head of the Regulation Harmonization Subdirectorate at the Indonesia Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf), said that her institution would prepare recommendations for the government to cut income or royalty taxes for writers.
“We can’t say yet about the percentage of the tax cut. We’re still discussing it,” Linda told Tempo yesterday, Sept. 6.
Read: Writer Tere Liye Complains Tax Income Rate Sri Mulyani Answers
Linda revealed that Bekraf and the Indonesia Sciences Institute (LIPI) had set a target to finalize the recommendations by the end of this year.
“LIPI is currently coordinating with writers, publishers, and academicians. Hopefully, we can provide the recommendations to the president by early 2018,” Linda explained.
Earlier, novelist Tere Liye said that the income tax imposed to writers is far higher than those imposed to other professions. Tere Liye stated that he had sent letters to the government over the issue, but no responses have been given by the government. Finally, he decided to stop releasing his books with publishers as of July 31, 2017.
ROSSENO AJI NUGROHO
