Shuli Ren, Columnist

Indonesia’s Unicorn Charge Makes the Rupiah Tremble

The success of the country’s online retailers could be too much of a good thing if it causes the trade deficit to widen.

January 17, 2019 at 12:00 AM UTC

By Shuli Ren

Shuli Ren is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian markets. A former investment banker, she was a markets reporter for Barron’s. She is a CFA charterholder.

The taxman is coming.
Photographer: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg

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Indonesia’s booming e-commerce industry is churning out unicorns such as Tokopedia PT and Bukalapak.com. It’s also creating a headache for the government and the rupiah.

Authorities are trying to capitalize on this fast-growing cash cow by taxing e-commerce transactions. Starting April, online retailers will need to collect, deposit and report income and value-added taxes. Small and medium-size businesses must pay income tax of 0.5 percent of revenue, while large enterprises will be subject to a 25 percent levy on profits.