Fajarasia.co – The Chairperson of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, received an Introduction to the Bill on the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) for Fiscal Year 2023 and its Financial Note from President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). He hopes that the implementation of the 2023 APBN will be carried out carefully and effectively.
The presentation of the Government’s statement on the Draft Law on the 2023 State Budget and its Financial Notes by President Jokowi was carried out in the Plenary Meeting of the Opening of the First Session of the Session Year 2022-2023 DPR which was held at the Nusantara Building, Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Tuesday (16/8/ 2022).
“During the previous session, the Indonesian House of Representatives together with the Government discussed the Macroeconomic Policy and the Principles of Fiscal Policy (KEM PPKF) of the State Budget for Fiscal Year 2023,” said Puan.
Through the discussion, the macro assumption of national economic growth is in the range of 5.3% to 5.9% and the inflation rate is in the range of 2% to 4%. Then the state income is estimated to be in the range of 11.19% of GDP to 12.24% of GDP, with tax revenues of 9.3% of GDP to 10% of GDP.
Then state spending is 13.8% of GDP to 15.1% of GDP, and the deficit is at 2.61% of GDP to 2.85% of GDP. The theme of the Government’s Work Plan for 2023 is ‘Increased productivity for inclusive and sustainable economic transformation’.
Meanwhile, the direction of fiscal policy will be focused on strengthening the quality of Human Resources (HR), accelerating infrastructure development, strengthening bureaucratic reform, revitalizing industry, and developing a green economy. Puan also gave notes on the Government’s work plan and the direction of the fiscal policy.
“The government should anticipate various global and national factors that can put pressure on the state’s financial capacity in implementing the APBN in 2023,” said the first woman who served as Chair of the Indonesian House of Representatives.
According to Puan, the 2023 APBN needs to anticipate various things that can affect the APBN fiscal policy and the resilience of the APBN. In particular, those relating to state revenues, increased spending, especially subsidies, and deficit financing through government securities.
Starting from global dynamics, geopolitical conflicts, developments in global monetary policy, stagflation, developments in strategic commodity prices such as oil, global food production vulnerabilities, and so on.
“This 2023 APBN is a consolidation of the APBN back to a deficit below 3% of GDP. This puts the Government in the best possible way in optimizing state revenues, spending priority options, and increasingly limited financing space,” said Puan.
In encouraging economic growth, each Ministry/Institution (Ministry/Institution) is asked to contribute through efforts, policies and programs that can provide added value to the national economy. Puan also hopes that the Government can optimize state revenues through the implementation of the Law on Harmonization of Tax Regulations.
“So that it can increase the tax ratio to the maximum level. The government also needs to sharpen tax incentives that are directed to be able to provide a large multiplier impact in the national economic recovery (PEN),” he said.
Puan also reminded the government to improve the quality of spending (spending better). This is as stated in the KEM PPKF related to the government spending sector.
“This needs to be proven concretely and shown by every K/L through various indicators that can show that the work program implemented is effective in resolving people’s affairs,” he said.
“Then it is efficient in its management, right on target-right benefits for the people and makes it easier for the people to get the benefits,” continued Puan.
In conditions of social and economic recovery, according to the former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture, the 2023 State Budget is also required to be able to function in driving the economy. Puan also said that the 2023 APBN must be able to protect purchasing power, provide social protection, as well as secure the productivity of the food sector, energy sector, and strengthen national strategic industries.
“The state budget is also an instrument in carrying out national development in various fields that cannot be delayed, such as in the fields of education, health, agriculture, infrastructure, people’s empowerment and so on,” he explained.
Furthermore, Puan reminded the Government to focus on national strategic issues, including in the food and energy security sector.
“The government should formulate a work program to improve national energy security and food security amid the threat of a global crisis related to energy and food,” said Puan.
“The government should pay attention to the development of national food sovereignty by increasing the productivity and welfare of farmers,” added the grandson of the Indonesian Proclaimer Bung Karno.
In the regional transfer policy, Puan asked the Government to optimize the implementation of the new HKPD (Financial Relations between Central Government and Regional Government) Law. That way, the Regional Government (Pemda) has a capable ability to carry out regional development and the quality of local government spending is increasing.
“Regional progress is Indonesia’s progress,” said Puan.
The DPR hopes that the Government will prepare the 2023 APBN in a careful, effective and efficient manner, considering that there are so many tasks that will be carried out through APBN instruments. In the limited fiscal space, said Puan, the fiscal consolidation of the 2023 State Budget has again limited the size of the deficit to 3% of GDP.
“The government should anticipate the size of the 2023 APBN deficit, which can provide anticipatory fiscal space against the burden of increasing central government spending, especially due to the energy crisis, and still be able to manage financing in order to provide fiscal space for the APBN in the following years,” explained the Chairman of the DPR. .
Puan ensured that the DPR would support the Government’s best efforts in maintaining the capacity of the State Budget. Both through the management of APBN allocation and legal political steps.
“So that it can carry out the functions of the State Budget to overcome poverty, improve the welfare of the people, organize government, and/or anticipate economic crises,” he said.
It is also hoped that the various agreements, recommendations, and notes in the preliminary talks at KEM PPKF will have been formulated by the Government in the Government’s policies and work programs in the 2023 RAPBN and its Financial Note.
“The state budget, as an instrument to improve people’s welfare, is increasingly required to provide results and benefits that are felt as much as possible by the people,” concluded Puan.****
