Wider pool of workers
“There are about 13 million people with salaries under Rp 10 million,” Airlangga said. The incentive in question is the PPh Article 21 Borne-by-Government scheme, known as DTP, under which the state covers the income tax that workers would otherwise owe.
The scheme currently applies only to labor-intensive and tourism sectors. Airlangga said that will change. “If it is currently given to labor-intensive and tourism sectors, next year it will be given to all sectors,” he said, describing an expansion that would cover the full workforce beneath the income threshold rather than selected industries.
Earlier, smaller estimate
The 13 million figure marks an increase from an earlier estimate. At a press conference after a limited meeting with President Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday, Airlangga had said about 7.5 million workers were previously expected to be targeted by the PPh 21 reduction in 2027.
A separate wage-subsidy program, Bantuan Subsidi Upah, targets workers earning under Rp 3 million. That program is still being processed at the Ministry of Finance, with candidate data still under review.
