Indonesia expects 2022 fiscal deficit to shrink to 4.3% of GDP: Report

Indonesia's fiscal deficit this year is expected to shrink to 4.3% of gross domestic product, narrower than the 4.85% initially predicted, media reported, citing the finance ministry's head of fiscal policy office.
 

A smaller fiscal deficit means the government could reduce its bond issuance target for 2022.
 

An uptrend in commodity prices already gave some windfall revenues for Southeast Asia's largest economy last year, which helped the government to sharply reduce the 2021 budget deficit to 4.65% of GDP, from a 5.7% gap approved by parliament.
 

Finance ministry official Febrio Kacaribu told a briefing new tax measures passed in October, such as the valued added tax hike, a higher tax rate for the high income earners, the cancellation of corporate tax cut and a tax amnesty programme, would boost 2022 revenue collection, media reported.
 

The government also expected a stronger economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and high commodity prices to support 2022's tax take, Febrio was cited as saying.
 

(Reporting by Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Martin Petty)