JAKARTA. Tax amnesty program was initially predicted to boost the performance of property issuers. However, this program in fact did not bring significant impact to the property sector.

Some property developers said, the tax amnesty program would not affect to the sales of property. “Tax amnesty did not bring impacts (to the property sector),” Corporate Secretary of PT Intiland Development Tbk (DILD) Theresia Rustandi told KONTAN, Wednesday (15/2).

He is not too optimistic on the impacts of tax amnesty. To date, DILD expects that the concurrent local elections in 101 regions will run in an appropriate manner so that the condition will remain stable.

Likewise, PT Agung Podomoro Land Tbk (APLN) also estimates that the tax amnesty program has not yet created a significant increase in the property sales.

Assistant Vice President Strategic Marketing Residential of APLN Agung Wirajaya said that the property sales have grown by 5% after the implementation of tax amnesty. “(The sales growth) has not yet been significant and has not yet met our expectations,” Agung told KONTAN, Tuesday (14/2).

Land Tax

However, APLN has prepared some special strategies to respond to several challenges in this year, including the plan to impose tax on the land ownership. The management of APLN expects that the government would not realize that plan. “Investors’ activities would be more restricted. The property, however, involves a large number of investors,” Agung said.

APLN would be more focusing on targeting the end users, rather than the investors. In this case, APLN would try to educate the end users to play a role as the investors.

Meanwhile, DILD is also optimistic that the government will stand on the side of the property industry. “In referring to the statement of mister Sofyan Djalil (the Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning), we are optimistic that the government will not create some policies that may distort the industry,” Theresia said.

Analyst at Binaartha Parama Sekuritas Reza Priyambada said that tax amnesty would have not boost the property business, as well as the real sector in an instant manner. In other words, it takes processes for the tax amnesty program to drive those business sectors.

Reza said, the banking interest rate remains high so that people are still reluctant to buy properties. In terms of the type of property, public tend to prefer the landed house rather than the highrise. “Usually, people choose the highrise for investment purpose,” Reza told KONTAN, Wednesday (15/2).

Reza recommends ‘trading buy’ for APLN and DILD. According to Reza, the share price of APLN would be Rp 320 per a share, while the price of a DILD share would be at Rp 515.

(Muhammad Farid/Translator)

Editor: Dupla Kartini