Coal producers oppose government's export tax plan

The association of Indonesian coal producers (APBI) has strongly opposed the government's plan to impose five percent tax on coal exports, saying that the tax export plan would further hurt the country's coal mining companies.

APBI's chairman Jefry Mulyono, said that the association had sent a letter to the coordinating minister of economy, the ministry of finance and the ministry of energy and mineral resources to convey their opposition to the planned export tax.

According to him, the export tax would further hurt the country's coal mining companies whose operational costs had showed a significant increase following the recent increase in the fuel prices.

Coal mining companies which were required to buy fuel at market prices since July this year were of the opinion that the planned export tax would be no longer relevant because the price of coal in the international market had begun to decline.

The coal price has declined by about US$11 per ton in recent months to about US$43.4 per ton at present from US$55 per ton previously.

The government had said that it would impose five percent tax on coal exports to ensure sufficient coal supply in the domestic market, and at the same time, to provide additional receipts to the state budget. (dino)