Uber Says It's Not Dodging Taxes With Special Model for Indonesian Drivers
Jakarta. The company behind the ride-sharing smartphone application Uber claims it is not subject to taxes under its current business model in Indonesia as all revenue from rides goes back to the drivers.
Currently, any tax obligations — ranging from value-added tax on the service, car registration tax to income tax — rests on the drivers who operate under car-rental business licenses, the company said on Thursday.
"Uber doesn't take any commission whatsoever, so we're not making any money. Taxes, as you well know, are taken from profit, not on revenue, which we're not even making," said Uber Technologies spokesman Karun Arya.
Uber plans to submit a business permit application to Indonesia's Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) next week in order to establish a technology company based here.
"Once that happens and once we do change our business model to the commission-based that we have everywhere else in the world, we will pay all applicable tax as well," he added, emphasizing that Uber will keep the commission-free model in Indonesia for "the foreseeable future."
In markets outside Indonesia, like Singapore and Malaysia, Uber typically takes 20 percent of the fare and drivers take the remaining 80 percent.
One market where Uber has implemented a commission-free model is New Delhi,where it operated commission-free for five months before switching to a regular commission model, according to Arya.
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