The State News Agency Antara reports that Bali’s Provincial Secretary Dewa Made Indra has publicly assured the Bali Ombudsman that all revenues collected from the Foreign Tourist Tax (PWA) since its inception on 14 February 2024 will be used following the applicable regulations.
Dewa Made Indra explained that the legal mandate provided under Bali Provincial Regulation (Perda) Number 6 of 2023 concerning Levies for Foreign Tourists (PWA) is intended to protect Bali’s natural environment and culture. “The total realization of PWA revenue as of December 31, 2024, reached more than IDR 318 billion, exceeding the initial target of IDR 250 billion. All Foreign Tourist Tax (PWA) revenues have entered the regional treasury and are allocated according to its legal directives,” said Dewa Indra.
The Bali Regional Secretary stated that foreign tourist tax revenue was used for cultural protection, the environment, and waste management in Bali. Elaborating, Dewa Indra said the funds used for protecting culture allow the Provincial Government to allocate funds for traditional villages, subtasks, and temples, allowing religious ceremonies to be conducted following the ritualistic rules, as well as providing special financial assistance (BKK) to artists.
Regarding the environment, Dewa Made Indra has given special financial assistance to districts/cities for waste management, waste reduction, reuse, and recycling (TPS3R) of waste processing facilities in each region of Bali.
Dewa Made Indra said: “The entire budget has been distributed according to its declared official designation.”
Dewa Indra assured that the Bali Provincial Government is open and transparent in managing the foreign tourist levies (PWA). The main remaining obstacle is the collection process because more than half of Bali’s foreign tourists are not paying the Rp 150,000 PWA.
“In 2025, we hope that revenue can increase together with improvements underway with the various projects we face in the field,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Ombudsman RI Representative Office for the Province of Bali, Ni Nyoman Sri Widhiyanti, said that this meeting was to improve the quality of public service delivery through policy evaluation and steps that will be taken to increase local tax revenues (PAD) and Balinese cultural tourism services provided for foreign tourists.
The Bali Ombudsman conveyed to Dewa Made Indra several complaints about the foreign tourist levy system, application constraints, lack of socialization, and clarity on using tax revenues.
Nyoman Sri, the Ombudsmen, said, “Improvements in governance are needed to increase Bali’s Provincial Tax Revenues (PAD) and the quality of cultural tourism services.”
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