Like many emerging economies, Indonesia practices self assessment income tax structure where tax residents have to pay tax based on their global income. This means that they are subject to tax regardless of whether they earn their income within the country. The main taxes are those imposed by the federal government that include income tax, value added taxes, property tax imposed on real estate and buildings and others.

There are also taxation imposed on a smaller scale which are regional that include taxes which need to be paid for development, household, media and such. For businesses, it is essential to know about export tax, import duty, taxation for products like tobacco, sugar, alcohol and other items. Taxation in Indonesia applies to both resident and non-resident income earners as long as it is received in the country. For individuals, the tax rates are from 5% to 30% while those earning below Rp15.000.000 are not taxed. Corporate tax rates are imposed for businesses that record income of more than Rp50b annually with a 25% as at 2010 which is considered to be one of the lowest in the world. For companies whose income is less than the amount will be taxed 12.5% as at 2010.