It’s reported that Indonesian government planned to impose taxes on exports minerals and base metals next year. Both praise and criticism have showed on this new policy.

Economists said that this new policy is a testament for the Indonesian government’s economic vision. Local manufacturers will be encouraged to add value to commodities and they will contribute to the national energy security.

However, the local mining companies said that the tax imposition on export of minerals and base metals will be an additional burden, affecting their financial performance.

Mr. Arif Hadianto, the spokesman of PT Berau Coal Energy, the fifth largest coal miner in Indonesia pointed out that coal miners have paid 13.5% of their total sales as royalties to the government.

He added that a new tax policy will become a burden automatically. He suggested the government consider that the coal producers have an obligation to meet the domestic demand.

Mr. Erif Tirtana, the head of investor relations of Resource Alam Indonesia said that the small and medium-scale companies will be hurt most by the new tax plan. He explained that the export tax will be a double tax since they’ve paid for royalties.

It’s known that the new tax policy on exports of minerals and base metals is in line with the ongoing process executed by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, which is making a regulation to ban exports of raw mining products in 2014.