The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) has reaffirmed that the 2026 Economic Census will not be used as a basis for tax collection. BPS has asked micro, small and medium enterprises (UMKM) not to worry about this.
Edy Mahmud, Deputy for Balance and Statistical Analysis at BPS, said the economic census is part of the government's effort to update data on the structure of the national economy, including the condition of UMKM. The activity is conducted once every ten years, with the last implementation in 2016.
Edy acknowledged that there is still some resistance from the public when officers conduct data collection. However, according to him, the resistance has not hindered the overall implementation of the census. One concern that has emerged is the allegation that census data will be used for tax purposes, but Edy reaffirmed that this concern is unfounded. The Ministry of Finance has stated that taxes are not derived from BPS data, he said.
Individual data collected by BPS is protected under the Statistics Law, according to Edy. The data published to the public consists of aggregate data, not individual information about each business operator. This data will later serve as material for assessing the structure and characteristics of the economy, including mapping the condition of UMKM.
The Ministry of UMKM said census data is important for determining more targeted policies. Loto Srinaita Ginting, Secretary of the Ministry of UMKM, said the government needs quality data to understand the needs of business operators, ranging from legality, financing, training to market access. According to Loto, inaccurate data risks leading government programmes to miss their targets or result in budget waste.
Loto said the Ministry of UMKM is preparing the SAPA UMKM platform to complement the census results. Through this platform, the government is seeking to integrate UMKM services while monitoring business developments, such as access to loans, certification, training and partnerships.
Hermawati Setyorinny, Chair of the Association of Indonesian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (Akumandiri), also believes that updating data is important for UMKM. According to her, the government needs to ensure that data collected through the census leads to programmes that are felt by business operators. Hermawati also believes that socialisation needs to be carried out in language that is easy to understand so that the concerns of UMKM operators about data collection diminish.
