President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo has revealed details of his administration’s 2020 state budget proposal, which foresee only a moderate increase in revenue and expenditure targets compared to this year’s double-digit expansions.
The government aims to collect Rp 2,221 trillion (US$156 billion) in state revenue next year, a 2.6 percent increase from this year’s budget. Meanwhile, state expenditure is planned to be Rp 2,528 trillion, up only 1.5 percent from Rp 2,462 trillion set aside in the 2019 budget.
According to Finance Ministry data, state revenue and expenditure in the 2019 budget are up around 13 percent and 10 percent, respectively, from last year.
Jokowi, who will commence his second presidential term in October, said in a speech on Friday that the budget would be focused on five main aspects, namely human resource development, infrastructure improvement, reinforcement of social protection, regional autonomy and anticipation of global uncertainty.
“[There will be a] focus on those five aspects, while keeping in mind expansive yet targeted and measured fiscal policies,” Jokowi said in front of lawmakers and policymakers at the House of Representatives as a part of his annual speech.
The Finance Ministry said it had collected Rp 603.34 in tax revenue during the first half of the year, or 38.25 percent of the full-year target.
Together with nontax income, total state revenue reached Rp 898.8 trillion, or 41.5 percent of the total target, during the same period.
State expenditure, meanwhile, was recorded at Rp 1,034 trillion, or 42 percent of the total allocation.
