The issue of the People’s Housing Savings Program (Tapera) surfaced after the issuance of Government Regulation No. 21 of 2024, which requires workers earning above the regional minimum wage to contribute 2.5% of their salary each month. In its Policy Brief “TAPERA for Wh(o)at? Analyzing the Pros and Cons of the People's Housing Savings Program,” CELIOS highlights the policy’s economic impact. CELIOS Digital Economy Director Nailul Huda stated, “The Tapera policy causes GDP to decline by IDR 1.21 trillion, business profits to fall by IDR 1.03 trillion, and affected workers’ incomes to decrease by IDR 200 billion,” showing reduced purchasing power and weaker demand across various sectors.
CELIOS Executive Director Bhima Yudhistira added, “Mandatory Tapera contributions negatively affect employment and could lead to the loss of 466.83 thousand jobs. Although net government revenue rises by IDR 20 billion, this amount is very small compared with the economic losses in other sectors.” Huda also noted that the housing backlog remains unresolved, and the Taperum model shows the same problem.
The CELIOS Policy Brief recommends seven improvements, including making Tapera mandatory only for civil servants and military and police personnel, while allowing formal-sector and self-employed workers to participate voluntarily; increasing transparency and improving the governance of Tapera funds; curbing land speculation; lowering mortgage interest rates; and prioritizing state budget funds for public housing over mega-projects that have little impact on housing availability.
The issue of the People’s Housing Savings (Tapera) surfaced after the issuance of Government Regulation No. 21/2024, requiring workers earning above the regional minimum wage to contribute 2.5% of their monthly salary. CELIOS, in its Policy Brief “TAPERA for Wh(o)at? Analyzing the Pros and Cons of the People's Housing Savings Program” highlighted the policy’s economic impact. CELIOS Director of Economics Nailul Huda stated, “The Tapera policy caused a GDP decline of IDR 1.21 trillion, business surplus fell by IDR 1.03 trillion, and worker incomes were affected by IDR 200 billion,” showing reduced purchasing power and weaker demand across sectors.
CELIOS Executive Director Bhima Yudhistira added, “The mandatory Tapera contributions negatively affect employment; potentially causing the loss of 466,830 jobs. Although government revenues slightly increase by IDR 20 billion, this is negligible compared to the economic losses in other sectors.” Huda also noted that the housing backlog remains unresolved, with the Taperum model confirming the same issue.
The CELIOS Policy Brief recommends seven improvements, including making Tapera mandatory only for civil servants and military/police personnel while allowing formal and independent workers to participate voluntarily; enhancing transparency and governance of Tapera funds; controlling land speculation; lowering mortgage interest rates; and prioritizing public funds for people’s housing over mega-projects that minimally increase housing availability.