0 Government told to provide tax subsidy for farmers

An agricultural observer has urged the regional administrations to immediately establish a land and property tax subsidy for the island’s farmers. The call follows the central government decision to hand the authority to collect the tax to the regency-level administrations. “Previously, many regents in Bali reasoned that their administration could not give a subsidy because land and property tax falls under the central government’s jurisdiction [...] we are now waiting for [the regents] action on this matter. 

They have to make true what they promised the farmers,” Alit Artha Wiguna said. Wiguna was the former executive of Bali’s World Heritage Council, one of the organizations that played an important role in lobbying UNESCO for the inclusion the “Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: The Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy” as a World Heritage Site. He pointed out that a bylaw on subak, enacted by Bali Legislative Council last December, could serve as the legal foundation for the issuance of the tax subsidy policy. 

The bylaw on subak — consisting of 24 articles and 11 sub-articles — states that the government must provide land and property tax subsidies to subak farmers who preserve and manage their paddy fields. The bylaw also regulates the management and arrangement of water used to irrigate rice fields. It made it mandatory for those who want to use water resources for non-agricultural purposes to first obtain an agreement from the local subak organization. 

Wiguna added that many farmers were burdened by high land and property taxes. Many farmers were forced to sell their rice fields to tourism developers because farming ceased to provide an adequate livelihood. The presence of luxury villas drives land prices higher, thereby increasing the amount of taxation that landowners in the area must pay. When a villa is built next to a rice field, the farmer has to pay a similar amount of land tax as the owner of the villa. 

“The tax subsidy would really help farmers and encourage them to maintain their fields,” Wiguna said. Wiguna said UNESCOs acknowledgement of the subak system as a World Heritage Site last June should be followed by concrete action. Subak has been a central pillar of traditional Balinese society and culture for hundreds of years. With their farming system, Balinese farmers not only created an efficient and ecologically sustainable rice-growing environment but also produced one of the most esthetic bodies of art and culture in the world. 

UNESCO recognized subak along with Taman Ayun Water Palace in Mengwi, Badung; the terraced rice fields in Jatiluwih, Tabanan; and Pakerisan watersheds in Gianyar regency. Tabanan Regent Ni Putu Eka Wiryastuti told Bali Daily recently that Tabanan administration planned to give tax subsidy to farmers. “We will give the subsidy, but we will discuss it first,” he said. The Gianyar administration also planned to offer property and land tax subsidies to encourage farmers to preserve and maintain the rice fields and land. 

Gianyar Regent Tjokorda Artha Ardana Sukawati said that this kind of effort was one of the follow-up actions made by the regional government to preserve and manage its natural heritage. “The administration will provide a subsidy to farmers possessing land and rice fields located along the Pakerisan watershed in Gianyar. It is hoped that the policy would improve the living conditions of the farmers and, at the same time, maintain the regency’s most precious natural assets,” Sukawati said.

source : bali daily