{"id":60981,"date":"2026-08-02T03:44:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T07:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/baseless-claims-of-new-indonesian-mobile-phone-levy-spread-online\/02\/08\/2026\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T03:44:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T07:44:02","slug":"baseless-claims-of-new-indonesian-mobile-phone-levy-spread-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/baseless-claims-of-new-indonesian-mobile-phone-levy-spread-online\/02\/08\/2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Baseless claims of new Indonesian mobile phone levy spread online"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\" data-body-type=\"bodyblocks\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Indonesia faces a ballooning foreign debt that runs into hundreds of billions of dollars, but the Indonesian government has not announced a new tax on mobile phone users in the archipelago, contrary to a false claim circulating online. AFP cannot find credible government or parliamentary records on the purported tax, while a ministry spokesperson has dismissed the claim as &#8220;false&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Bahlil: Starting in 2027, mobile phone users will also be taxed!&#8221; reads the text on a <a data-ylk=\"slk:TikTok;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/TK33-BUL6\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">TikTok<\/a> graphic published on July 22, 2026.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It goes on to claim the tax would be imposed because of the widespread use of mobile phones and that the policy would promote digital fairness.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\"><span class=\"[&amp;_p]:inline\"><\/p>\n<p>Screenshot of false post, taken on July 27, 2026, with a red X mark added by AFP<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The poster-like post appears to show Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia speaking at an event.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The false claim circulated as\u00a0 <a data-ylk=\"slk:public concern;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/live-news\/20260614-indonesian-economy-comes-up-for-air-but-struggles-to-win-back-investors\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">public concern<\/a> over Indonesia&#8217;s economic condition grows, with the rupiah hitting successive record lows and foreign debt <a data-ylk=\"slk:ballooning;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/jakartaglobe.id\/business\/indonesias-q1-external-debt-rises-to-434-billion-as-fiscal-pressure-mounts\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">ballooning<\/a>\u00a0to $434 billion in the first quarter of 2026 (archived\u00a0 <a data-ylk=\"slk:here;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20260707061900\/https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/live-news\/20260614-indonesian-economy-comes-up-for-air-but-struggles-to-win-back-investors\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0 <a data-ylk=\"slk:here;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20260713070532\/https:\/\/jakartaglobe.id\/business\/indonesias-q1-external-debt-rises-to-434-billion-as-fiscal-pressure-mounts\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>). \u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">This was followed by a sharp decline in the government&#8217;s\u00a0 <a data-ylk=\"slk:approval rating;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/saifulmujani.com\/kondisi-ekonomi-politik-dan-approval-rating-presiden\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">approval rating<\/a> to approximately 30 percent, according to a survey conducted by Indonesian polling institute Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting in July ( <a data-ylk=\"slk:archived link;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/4YTM-RVQE\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Similar posts have also circulated on <a data-ylk=\"slk:Instagram;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/D973-RYKN\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram<\/a> and <a data-ylk=\"slk:Facebook;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/MN77-V366\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a>, but there are no independent government sources to back up the false claim.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">Fabricated policy<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A spokesperson for Indonesia&#8217;s Directorate General of Taxes told AFP on July 30 that there was &#8220;no regulation imposing a tax on mobile phone users starting in 2027 until now. This information is false.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The spokesperson went on to say that introducing a new tax regulation would require a lengthy and transparent process and that &#8220;such a policy would not simply appear out of nowhere&#8221;. The government could independently review such a policy or discuss it with members of parliament.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Afterwards, the Directorate General of Taxes would provide official information to the public through its official communication channels so that the public understands the applicable provisions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a data-ylk=\"slk:Keyword searches;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pVAKQqO2BE4\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Keyword searches<\/a> on the Indonesian parliament <a data-ylk=\"slk:website;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dpr.go.id\/kegiatan-dpr\/fungsi-dpr\/fungsi-legislasi\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">website<\/a> found no records of discussion papers or meetings regarding the purported new tax ( <a data-ylk=\"slk:archived link;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20260801062249\/https:\/\/www.dpr.go.id\/kegiatan-dpr\/fungsi-dpr\/fungsi-legislasi\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">archived link<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The government has also rejected the claim in a statement on its <a data-ylk=\"slk:website;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.komdigi.go.id\/berita\/berita-hoaks\/detail\/hoaks-pengguna-hp-bakal-dikenakan-pajak-mulai-2027\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">website<\/a>, calling it a hoax ( <a data-ylk=\"slk:archived link;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20260801063047\/https:\/\/www.komdigi.go.id\/berita\/berita-hoaks\/detail\/hoaks-pengguna-hp-bakal-dikenakan-pajak-mulai-2027\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">archived link<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">AFP has <a data-ylk=\"slk:debunked;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/factcheck.afp.com\/doc.afp.com.C3GA79E\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">debunked<\/a> other <a data-ylk=\"slk:baseless;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/factcheck.afp.com\/doc.afp.com.C2UK4KF\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">baseless<\/a> claims about new tax policies in Indonesia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/politics\/articles\/baseless-claims-indonesian-mobile-phone-070545561.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Indonesia faces a ballooning foreign debt that runs into hundreds of billions of dollars, but the Indonesian government has not announced a<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/baseless-claims-of-new-indonesian-mobile-phone-levy-spread-online\/02\/08\/2026\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/f74d52808babda09d4cec19c0e4ea592574a47eeade11e689cfe6cd56af971e4\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w806_h923;quality_80;format_webp\/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fafp_factcheck_us_713%2Fad79f47fbfbff9d3c8c3d731baf427b2","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}