The controversy over the plan by the Jakarta city government to apply a sales tax to food stalls, even after it was delayed, should come as no surprise. The delay—not cancellation—is like a snake in the grass: vendors know that the government’s plan to make them pay tax could reappear.

Value-added tax actually applies to all places that sell goods, including the small foodstalls known as warteg, with an income in excess of Rp60 million per