Jakarta. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said Monday that he had no plans to set up a state revenue agency in the near future despite the country's sluggish tax collection.

According to a recently revealed government work plan, President Prabowo Subianto considers the establishment of a state revenue agency as a quick win that his administration can look into for this year. The document also showed that Prabowo was banking on this agency to bump up the country’s tax-to-gross domestic product (GDP) to 23 percent, a huge jump compared to the current 10 percent. Speaking at the regular budgetary presser, the freshly minted Purbaya revealed he had no intention of forming the said agency for the time being. 

“We have no plans for a state revenue agency as of now. But its establishment will depend on the president’s instructions as well as my discussions with him,” Purbaya told the press, suggesting that things are still subject to change.

“I don't think it's necessary. ... What I can say is we will optimize collecting customs and taxes for the time being. ... I doubt now is the right time [to form the agency]. There are still some things that we need to fix in the system. Perhaps if doing so is not enough, we will consider the idea later,” Purbaya said.

This was not the first time for Prabowo to float the revenue agency plan. When he campaigned for the 2024 presidential race, the retired military general’s manifesto revealed his intention of forming the agency, also in hopes it could increase the tax-to-GDP ratio to 23 percent. The manifesto wrote that such an agency was necessary to fund the budget-heavy national economic development.

Tax collection has been on a decline this year, according to the Finance Ministry. The archipelagic Indonesia only collected around Rp 1,135.4 trillion ($68.4 billion) in taxes in the first eight months of 2025, down 5.1 percent year-on-year (yoy). Some Rp 194.2 trillion of which had come from corporate income tax. Indonesia amassed around Rp 194.9 trillion from customs and excise as of Aug. 31, up by 6.4 percent yoy. Non-tax revenue fell by 20.1 percent yoy to Rp 306.8 trillion over the same period.

The eight-month state revenue totaled Rp 1,638.7 trillion, marking a 7.8 percent yoy drop, the ministry reported.

This is only Purbaya's second week in the cabinet after he replaced Indonesia's second-longest serving finance chief Sri Mulyani.

Add as a preferred source on Google +