Indonesian protest against property tax hike turns chaotic with tear gas & hurled stones

A demonstration rejecting an alleged 300 per cent property tax hike in Bone Regency, Indonesia, ended in chaos on Tuesday (Aug. 19).

Protesters began surrounding the Bone Regent's office in South Sulawesi at 2pm, BBC Indonesia reported.

Tension escalated when Bone Regent Andi Asman Sulaiman and Deputy Regent Andi Akmal Pasluddin failed to meet the masses.

The crowd, furious that the regent did not meet them, broke down the fence of the regent's office, according to Kompas.

Officers on duty immediately formed a barricade with shields to prevent the crowd from entering the regent's office building.

Tear gas fired

To disperse the crowd, police fired tear gas at around 6:30pm.

Instead of dispersing, however, the crowd retaliated by throwing plastic bottles and stones, according to BBC Indonesia.

Clashes spread to smaller alleys around the regent's office until 10:20pm.

The protest has left both demonstrators and police officers injured, with some being rushed to the hospital.

"We will not disband today until the regent comes down to meet us, and we emphasise that the 300 per cent tax increase must be cancelled," lead protester Rafly Fasyah said, as quoted by Kompas.

Head of Bone's Communication and Digital Affairs, Anwar, said that the regent and deputy regent were out of town.

Anwar also denied that the issue of increasing the Land and Building Tax for Rural and Urban Areas, also known as PBB-P2, by up to 300 per cent.

"That's a hoax. The increase is only 65 per cent," Anwar said, as quoted by BBC Indonesia.

Tax hike halted

For now, the Bone Regency government has decided to postpone the decision to raise the PBB-P2, Tempo reported.

"After careful consideration and discussion with various parties, the leadership instructed us to postpone and conduct a thorough evaluation," Acting Regional Secretary Andi Saharuddin said in a statement, as quoted by Jakarta Globe.

Demonstrations seen in other regions

Demonstrations can also be seen in other regions.

In Pati, Central Java, demonstrations against the increase in PBB-P2 resulted in the demands for Sudewo, the region's regent, to step down.

Amid the backlash, the Pati Regency has decided to cancel its decision to increase the property tax.

In Cirebon, West Java, a group identified as Paguyuban Pelangi Cirebon (Cirebon Rainbow Association) claims to have been taking steps to reject the increase in PBB-P2 since 2024.

They claimed to have held hearings with the parliament, walked the streets, filed a judicial review, and even submitted a report to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Cut in regional transfer funds

Experts cited by BBC Indonesia believed that the property tax hike is due to the central government's decision to cut the regional transfer funds (TKD), prompting local governments to find another source of revenue.

This year, the government implemented a budget efficiency measure, including cutting TKD by 50.29 trillion rupiah (S$3.9 billion), BBC Indonesia reported.

Money from the budget cuts was directed to programmes that were said to have a "direct impact on the community", including Prabowo's free lunch programme.

"The easiest way to raise revenue is to raise taxes," said Herman Suparman, executive director of the Regional Autonomy Implementation Monitoring Committee (KPPOD), as quoted by BBC Indonesia.

Top image via Anny Novyanty Ruslan/Facebook