JAKARTA: In a bid to clamp down on tax evaders, the Indonesian government is more than doubling the exit tax that Indonesian citizens and foreigners working here have to pay every time they leave the country.

From Jan 1, citizens and Indonesia-based foreigners who are not registered as taxpayers will have to pay 2.5 million rupiah (S$330) in exit tax at airports - up from the current one million rupiah - which is more than the cost of flying to Singapore.

Those leaving by sea will have to pay one million rupiah, up from the current 500,000 rupiah.

Registered taxpayers will not have to pay a single cent, director-general of taxation Darmin Nasution told reporters earlier this week.

Also exempt are travellers less than 21 years old; foreigners staying in Indonesia for less than a total of 183 days in a 12-month period; diplomats; foreign students; Indonesian migrant workers; haj pilgrims and employees of international agencies.

The move is part of efforts by the Indonesian government to step up tax collections. Only 10million private taxpayers are registered out of a workforce of about 110million, noted Mr Darmin.

The government has been urging Indonesians and expatriates to apply for a tax ID number and file their income taxes by April1 each year.

Travellers who show this ID when leaving are then exempt from the exit tax.

Mr Darmin said the government expects up to 10million new taxpayers to have registered by the end of this year, as a result of the increased exit tax.

Analysts note that while many Indonesian travellers find the exit tax burdensome, it has had limited impact on their travel plans.

But foreigners have long complained that the tax affects regional tourism and acts as an extra, unnecessary cost to business travellers.

Levied since 1998, the exit tax is part of a larger aim to collect more money from those deemed to be wealthier, being able to travel by air. The Finance Ministry has, however, long been under pressure to scrap it. It has said it will do so by 2011, and is working to root out all errant taxpayers first.

The government's latest clampdown promises to hit hard those who have been quietly escaping paying tax. Most of these people are middle- to high-income earners who have avoided registering because of the high income tax rates - about 23 per cent for someone earning US$2,800 (S$4,000) a month.

News of the coming exit tax hike has pushed many into turning up at tax offices to get the tax ID. Some 50,000 to 100,000 have been registering daily in recent months, up from the usual 7,000.

Some unregistered eligible taxpayers, however, doubt the latest move will change their minds. Said interior designer Feri, an Indonesian: 'I'd rather just pay a higher exit tax than give up 25 per cent of my salary each month.'

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