By: Farkhan Syahputra )*
The Tapera funding program is the government’s effort to help people who don’t have a house so that Tapera is a program that supports the people and is mutual cooperation. This step shows a commitment to providing wider access to housing programs for all levels of society, in accordance with the spirit of inclusion and equality.
The polemic regarding Public Housing Savings (Tapera) is still ongoing in society. One of the issues that has received attention is the Tapera levy for private employees which must be implemented starting in 2027. The Tapera contribution is set by the government at 3 percent, with details of 2.5 percent being borne by the worker and 0.5 percent being borne by the employing company.
As an illustration, if a worker earns an income equivalent to the DKI Jakarta minimum wage of IDR 5,067,381, then the amount of the Tapera deduction is IDR 126,684 per month or around IDR 1.52 million per year. This Tapera contribution obligation adds to the list of salary deductions received by employees. Currently, workers’ salaries in Indonesia have been deducted for PPh Article 21 tax, BPJS Health, and BP Jamsostek.
The President Director of PT Pulo Mas Jaya, Robby Ferliansyah, said he was optimistic that the Tapera funding program would help people who don’t have a house and that Tapera is a program that supports the people and is mutual cooperation. Tapera is aimed specifically at the State Civil Apparatus (ASN) and the Indonesian National Army (TNI), but in reality, the need for housing is mostly felt by the general public. This program was then expanded to cover all levels of society, as a manifestation of the spirit of mutual cooperation. Apart from that, Tapera is also a savings account that can be withdrawn later.
Readiness to collaborate with the Tapera funding program to provide a solution for providing more affordable housing. Housing development companies will be the parties that will be positively impacted. One of the biggest challenges in owning a house is that land prices are already very high. This causes house prices to continue to increase, especially in the Jakarta area.
Conditions where house prices are increasingly expensive have created a trend where many young people prefer to rent rather than buy a house as an investment. Those who choose to buy a house are often only able to buy on the outskirts of Jakarta which is far from their place of work. Therefore, it is hoped that the existence of Tapera funds will provide certainty for people who do not yet own a house.
Funds managed by BP (Managing Agency) Tapera will be used to provide subsidies for house purchases, house renovation credits and house construction credits. This subsidy is expected to make house prices more affordable. In this way, Tapera funds can help developers provide cheap housing for the community.
Management of Tapera funds is carried out by BP Tapera. This body determines the allocation of fertilizer, utilization and reserve funds to ensure that the benefits of the Tapera program can be felt by all participants. In cultivating funds, BP Tapera partners with investment managers, custodian banks and finance companies who regularly report fund management to BP Tapera.
Chairman of Commission II of the Natuna DPRD, Marzuki, expressed his appreciation for the implementation of Tapera which was initiated by the central government. According to him, the Tapera program really helps workers to own a house through their own savings. There are three benefits that workers who become Tapera participants can get, namely home ownership credit (KPR), home building credit (KBR), and home renovation credit (KRR). Worker participants can apply for financing to purchase a house, especially a first house, provided they have been a Tapera participant for at least one year and follow the applicable procedures.
Worker participants can apply for financing for the construction of a new first home, as well as apply for financing for home repairs (renovation), with the same conditions. Apart from long tenors, BP Tapera also provides financing facilities with adequate ceilings and low interest rates through conventional and sharia financing schemes. The ceiling provided for KPR is adjusted to the repayment capacity determined by the implementing bank with a minimum interest rate of 5 percent (fixed). Credit ceilings are classified based on income groups and zoning.
Previously, BP Tapera was known as Bapertarum, a body formed based on Presidential Decree number 14 of 1993 by President Soeharto on February 15 1993. Bapertarum was tasked with improving the welfare of civil servants through assistance schemes in having a decent home, namely civil servant housing savings. The way to do this is by cutting the salaries of civil servants and managing housing savings. On March 24 2018, Bapertarum-PNS was dissolved and transformed into BP Tapera, with its membership expanded to include private, independent and informal workers.
The change from Bapertarum to BP Tapera on March 24 2018, marked a significant step in the evolution of the Public Housing Savings (Tapera) program. Initially, Bapertarum was formed with the main aim of improving the welfare of Civil Servants (PNS) through an assistance scheme in having a decent house.
With the transformation into BP Tapera, the scope of participation was expanded not only to civil servants, but also to private, independent and informal workers. This step shows a commitment to providing wider access to housing programs for all levels of society, in accordance with the spirit of inclusion and equality.
)* The author is a Bandung student living in Jakarta
