After the Tax Drama, Indonesia Outlines New Plan to Boost Local Industry1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteOne thing lost in the complex web the Hollywood film boycott has spun is the reason the government gave for wanting to hike taxes on film imports in the first place: to stimulate the local film industry.
Just days after the boycott began on Feb. 17, Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said the president, prompted by a comment from director Hanung Bramantyo in the local media about improving the domestic industry without imposing new taxes, had asked him to review the proposed tax regime.
On Thursday, Jero finally announced the plan to help the struggling industry, outlining a new company that would help fund local projects.
“We are going to establish Indonesian Film Finance to provide low-interest loans to Indonesian filmmakers,” he said. “This way we can help to improve the quantity and quality of Indonesian films.”
Aside from the help with funding, Jero said the Finance Ministry had also agreed to eliminate taxes on the importation of film production equipment. “Film production equipment and materials have always been listed as luxury items and therefore were slapped with high taxes,” he said.
