INDONESIAN GOVT DELAYS FILM TAX REVIEW DECISION


If you have been waiting patiently for the past month, popcorn box in hand, to find out whether there will be any fresh Hollywood films to watch on the big screen anytime soon, you may have to keep on waiting.

Pemerintah pada hari Rabu gagal untuk keluar dengan keputusan dijanjikan pada pajak film impor, mengatakan perundingan belum menyimpulkan belum. The government on Wednesday failed to come out with a promised decision on the tax on imported films, saying negotiations hadn't concluded yet.

Menteri Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata Jero Wacik, yang sebelumnya berjanji bahwa Rabu akan menjadi hari ia akan mengungkapkan keputusan mengenai isu pajak yang telah menyebabkan importir film asing untuk menghentikan membawa judul baru, mengatakan skema belum diselesaikan. Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik, who had earlier promised that Wednesday would be the day he would reveal a decision on the tax issue that has led foreign film importers to stop bringing in new titles, said the scheme had yet to be finalized.

"Kita tidak bisa mengumumkan skema pajak film yang tepat namun karena masih sedang dibahas, dengan mempertimbangkan tiga peraturan, di bea cukai, pajak dan juga film," kata Wacik. “We cannot announce the exact film tax scheme yet because it is still being discussed, taking into consideration three regulations, on customs, tax and also films,” Wacik said.

Kebijakan tersebut menyebabkan anggota Motion Picture Association memutuskan untuk menghentikan ekspor film ke Indonesia. The policy in question led to members of the Motion Picture Association deciding to halt exports of films to Indonesia.

Inti dari masalah ini terletak dalam perhitungan nilai pabean film impor, yang sebelumnya didasarkan pada panjang fisik gulungan film, dengan setiap meter sebesar 43 sen. The core of the issue lies in the calculation of the customs value of imported films, which was previously based on the physical length of the film roll, with each meter valued at 43 cents. Tetapi pemerintah sekarang ingin royalti pajak di depan di bawah hukum adat tahun 2006 yang menetapkan bahwa royalti harus dimasukkan dalam pajak impor. But the government now wants to tax royalties up front under a 2006 customs law that stipulates that royalties should be included in the import tax.

Pemerintah, meskipun, telah mengirim pesan yang membingungkan. The government, though, has sent out mixed messages. Sedangkan Direktorat Jenderal Bea dan Cukai telah muncul tegas tentang pelaksanaan perhitungan royalti baru, Departemen Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata telah menyatakan bahwa pemerintah terbuka untuk negosiasi dengan importir film. While the Directorate General of Customs and Excise has appeared resolute about implementing the new royalty computation, the Culture and Tourism Ministry has maintained that the government was open to negotiations with film importers.

"Saya ingin memastikan bahwa film asing masih masuk ke Indonesia," Jero menegaskan kembali pada hari Rabu. “I want to make sure that foreign films are still entering Indonesia,” Jero reiterated on Wednesday. Dia tidak merinci pernyataan tersebut, bukan mengumumkan bahwa pajak impor yang terpisah pada peralatan produksi film akan dihapuskan untuk membantu produsen film Indonesia memberikan dorongan. He did not elaborate on the statement, instead announcing that a separate import tax on film production equipment would be scrapped to help give Indonesian film producers a boost.

Departemen Pariwisata telah sebelumnya mengatakan mendorong industri film lokal adalah alasan di balik kebijakan royalti baru. The Tourism Ministry has previously said boosting the local film industry was the rationale behind the new royalty policy.
"Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono menyarankan pengembangan industri film nasional dengan mengurangi pajak bagi para pembuat film Indonesia, jadi kita akan menerapkan pajak nol persen pada peralatan produksi film," kata Wacik. “President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono suggested developing the national film industry by reducing taxes for Indonesian filmmakers, so we are going to apply a zero percent tax on film production equipment,” Wacik said.

Ia mengatakan produksi film peralatan dan material selalu terdaftar sebagai barang mewah dan karena itu ditampar dengan pajak yang tinggi. He said film production equipment and materials have always been listed as luxury items and therefore were slapped with high taxes.

"Selain itu, kita akan mengurangi pajak nilai tambah ke tingkat minimum," katanya, tanpa menjelaskan lebih lanjut. “Other than that, we are going to reduce the value-added tax to a minimum level,” he said, without elaborating.
Wacik mengatakan tingkat produksi film saat ini negara tidak dalam posisi untuk memenuhi tuntutan 672 rumah pemutaran di seluruh bangsa. Wacik said the country's current film production levels were not in a position to meet the demands of the 672 screening houses across the nation.

"Itulah sebabnya film-film asing yang diperlukan, untuk memenuhi permintaan dari layar dan juga untuk menjadi referensi bagi para pembuat film Indonesia untuk meningkatkan kualitas film mereka," kata Wacik. “That is why foreign films are needed, to meet the demand of the screens and also to become references for Indonesian filmmakers to improve the quality of their films,” Wacik said. "Kami tidak ingin membuat kebijakan yang menyakitkan banyak orang, termasuk penggemar film Hollywood dan karyawan bioskop." “We do not want to create a policy that hurts many people, including Hollywood film fans and cinema employees.”

Wacik mengatakan rezim pajak film impor bertujuan untuk melindungi industri film nasional, sementara pada saat yang sama tidak merugikan impor film asing. Wacik said the tax regime on imported films was aimed at protecting the national film industry while at the same time not harming foreign film imports.

"Kami hanya ingin melihat film asing masuk ke Indonesia tanpa melanggar peraturan. “We just want to see foreign films enter Indonesia without violating the regulations. Sejauh ini, Direktorat Jenderal Pajak telah memutuskan skema pajak, namun belum menyelesaikan keputusan mereka, "katanya. So far, the Directorate General of Taxation has decided on a tax scheme, but it has yet to finalize their decision,” he said.

Dalam rangka membantu masyarakat meningkatkan nilai untuk film, Wacik mengatakan pihaknya mengusulkan untuk memiliki puluhan mobil proyeksi film yang tersedia pada tahun 2012 untuk melayani daerah tanpa bioskop. In order to help increase public assess to films, Wacik said his ministry proposed to have dozens of film projection cars available in 2012 to cater to areas without cinemas.

"Ide ini pada dasarnya untuk membawa film untuk semua warga negara Indonesia. “This idea is basically to bring films to all Indonesian citizens. Dengan cara itu, film akan menjadi bentuk hiburan tidak hanya dinikmati oleh orang kota tetapi juga oleh orang-orang dari kota-kota kecil atau desa-desa kecil "kata. Jero. In that way, films will be a form of entertainment not only enjoyed by city people but also by people from small towns or small villages.” Jero said.