TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin expects that the cost of hajj pilgrimage will increase by 5 percent in 2018 following Saudi Arabia`s plan to impose a 5 percent tax.
According to Lukman, Saudi Arabia will impose the 5 percent tax for products and services for its citizens and foreign citizens. “Every product, food, and beverage, services, all kinds of retributions will be imposed a 5 percent tax, which includes Umrah and Hajj pilgrimage,” said Lukman at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday, January 3.
Saudi Arabia was forced to take this step considering the continuously weakening price of oil, which has been the country’s most predominant income.
Regarding the cost of a hajj pilgrimage for Indonesians, the Indonesian government will be discussed within government institutions and recalculated. “I will soon have it discussed with House Commission VIII,” he explained.
Minister Lukman predicts that the cost of a hajj pilgrimage will increase no more than 5 percent.
AMIRULLAH
