Businesses decry plastic, sweet-beverage excise

Growing woes: People on a beach polluted by plastic rubbish in Bali, Indonesia. Packaging currently accounts for around 5% of product prices in the country. — Reuters

JAKARTA: Industry players have complained about a planned excise tax on plastic products and sweetened beverages, arguing it will not solve what it is intended to and will cause other problems in the process.

Indonesian Olefin, Aromatic and Plastic Industry Association secretary-general Fajar Budiono told The Jakarta Post on Monday that the levy on plastic would stoke inflation, because most products incorporated plastic, one way or another.