Jokowi Demands Spending Restraint as Indonesia Budget Gap Widens
- Fiscal shortfall to reach 2.5% of GDP, finance minister says
- Government seeking additional revenue from tax amnesty
Joko Widodo.
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Indonesian President Joko Widodo called for spending curbs as the budget deficit in Southeast Asia’s largest economy continues to deteriorate on the back of a shortfall in tax revenue and falling commodity prices.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who took office last week, revised this year’s fiscal shortfall to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product and told reporters on Wednesday in Jakarta that the government estimates a revenue gap of 219 trillion rupiah ($16.7 billion). The deficit target was raised from 2.35 percent, bringing it closer to the mandated ceiling of 3 percent.