Digital Deals

The considerable attention the government is paying to the development of digital business needs to be regarded with caution because it could end badly if it is accompanied by regulations aimed solely at increasing tax revenues. Conversely, government attention could reap benefits if it leads to concrete policies to help digital entrepreneurs expand and improve the market.

Unfortunately, the digital business roadmap drawn up by Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara at the start of this year shows that the government does not have a scale of priorities. The government says it wants to increase the benefits that digital technology brings to the Indonesian economy, but at the same time it clearly wants to increase tax revenues from this sector. On the ground, these two aims frequently come into conflict.