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View all search resultsRetailers decry ‘unfair’ tax advantage for e-commerce
Retailers have criticized the government’s decision to delay the implementation of marketplace tax collection for online sellers, saying it prolongs an uneven playing field disadvantaging bricks-and-mortar businesses already contending with softer consumer spending and rising costs.
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Workers sort packages ready for shipment at the warehouse of e-commerce giant Shopee in Cengkareng, West Jakarta, on Aug. 30, 2023. (Antara/M Risyal Hidayat)
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etailers have criticized the government’s decision to delay the implementation of marketplace tax collection for online sellers, saying it prolongs an uneven playing field disadvantaging bricks-and-mortar businesses already contending with softer consumer spending and rising costs.
The postponement is deemed unfair to retailers, who collect and remit taxes on both their offline and online sales, while tax compliance among online merchants remains low, according to the Indonesian Retailers and Shopping Centers Association (Hippindo).
“We support the government collecting taxes fairly. So yes, we are disappointed,” Hippindo chairman Budihardjo Iduansjah said on Thursday.
The point was not to burden online sellers but to ensure all businesses operate within the same taxation framework, he emphasized.
“We would hope the same treatment applies equally to online and offline businesses,” he said, adding that equal fiscal obligations were necessary to ensure fair competition.
Read also: Curbing under-16s’ access to fintech, e-commerce could slow adoption
The latest postponement comes as bricks-and-mortar retailers contend with rising expenses while shoppers spend less during mall visits as consumers’ economic concerns weigh on household spending.
