Indonesia’s total tax to GDP ratio has been declining since 2012 and now stands as one of the lowest in the region. Studies have shown that tax reform can help accelerate economic growth. But despite a series of reforms since the 1990s, progress has been slow. The fact that revenue can no longer rely on oil and gas and the low tax compliance in general have contributed to this lackluster development. The recent tax amnesty program has helped increase the revenue and tax compliance, but challenges remain. In this public lecture, Professor Suahasil Nazara will discuss the strategies the Ministry of Finance is undertaking in order to improve tax compliance. In particular, he will talk about four key aspects of the tax reform, namely regulation, IT support, human resources, and business process.

Professor Suahasil Nazara is the Chairman of the Fiscal Policy Agency (BKF) at the Ministry of Finance, Republic of Indonesia. He is also a key economic advisor to the Indonesian Minister of Finance Dr Sri Mulyani Indrawati. He has served in different capacities in the Indonesian government including as the Vice Chairman of Supervising Committee of the Indonesian Decentralization Watch (KPPOD), Policy Coordinator at the Secretariat of the National Team of Poverty Reduction Acceleration (TNP2K) at the Office of the Vice President, and a member of the National Economic Committee (DEN). He is an economics professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia. Professor Nazara holds a PhD degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.