Bali Tourism Tax Evaders Could Face Jail Time For Dodging Fees

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Bali’s Acting Governor, Sang Made Mahendra Jaya, has spoken to reporters about possible solutions for tourism tax evaders.

Back in February, the Bali Tourism Tax Levy was introduced in the province, but so far, only 40% of visitors have been making the mandatory contribution. 

The IDR 150,000 Bali Tourism Tax Levy fee is to be paid by all international tourists before leaving the island.

The fee is payable online, on the LoveBali app, and at dedicated counters at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport.

Some major hotels and travel agents are also able to assist with payment. The fee must be paid via a credit or debit card, and tourists will be issued with a QR-code voucher that they must keep available to show Tourism Task Force officers if they are stopped at a spot check. 

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The fee was created to help fund the development of tourism infrastructure and, most importantly, fund the preservation of Balinese culture and the natural heritage of the province.

The fee is only applicable to Bali province; tourists only visiting destinations like Jakarta, Yogjakarta, Lombok, or Sumba, for example, are not required to pay the contribution. 

The fee has been in effect for seven months, and the amount of funds generated has been markedly lower than what provincial leaders had been budgeting to raise.

With no fines or serious punishment written into the legislation to combat those who are either intentionally or accidentally avoiding the fee, up to 60% of eligible tourism taxpayers have not been paying their way. 

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The Acting Governor of Bali, Sang Made Mahendra Jaya, is proposing a series of sanctions for those who are found not to have paid their fees.

He spoke to the press on Saturday 7th, September after a meeting with the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI).

He explained, “If there are no sanctions, no, we can’t do anything if they don’t pay. In the future, there will be sanctions with a minimum penalty of ten times (the tourism tax fee) or a week of imprisonment; they must pay.”

He added, “because if the rules do not have sanctions, it is considered trivial, so I hope to the friends here at HIPMI who are sitting in the council to speed up the revisions of the regulations on the collection of foreign tourists [taxes].”

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Acting Governor Jaya acknowledged that the process for tourists paying their taxes does need to be improved and that simply “closing the door” on those who have not paid by the time they arrive at Bali Airport would not be a viable solution either. 

Jaya noted, “The trial time for overseas flights is [on average] five to six hours; how many hours have they spending the VoA queue, then immigration, then customs, now the Bali Tourism Office? How many hours do they have to queue at the airport?”

The Acting Governor feels that implementing punishments for not paying will encourage tourists to ensure they have paid their fees, but in their own time, whether before, during, or just before departure.

He wants to make sure it is easier for tourists to pay their fees at their hotels, hostels, villas, resorts, or guesthouses. 

Acting Governor Jaya said, “When the tourist arrives at the hotel, they can be asked whether the fee has been paid or not, but this is a heavy [ask] because there is not an incentive for them [the hotel], therefore HIPMI can accelerate the revision of the guest fee, I pray there are incentives to help the levy, and there are sanctions.”

He concluded, “I am the part of the filter to filter tourists who come to Bali so that it is indeed a torso that has the contents in their pockets.”

Acting Governor Jaya, like many political and tourism leaders in Bali, wants to see more ‘high quality’ and high-spending tourists arrive in Bali to support more culturally respectful and sustainable tourism.