Indonesian Finance Ministry mulls plans to tax e-commerce sites

The Indonesian Finance Ministry is considering plans to tighten tax regulations on transactions of foreign-owned online businesses that have yet to set up a local presence, in another strategy to generate more revenue to the state coffers.

Deputy Finance Minister Mardiasmo said that the ministry is also looking to collaborate with the Ministry of Information and Communication in tracking online transactions through foreign-owned companies, such as Apple’s iTunes store.

An attempt to tax online transactions from the companies that are based overseas could mean that these companies would be obliged to set up a locally incorporated company in Indonesia – which has become a burgeoning market for tech giants such as Google and Facebook.