Batam a departure tax free zone

One of the coolest guys on the Indo internet is IndCoup in Jakarta. This guy speaks his mind, which is easy because he’s not trying to sell anything.

Everyone who visits Bali on holiday, and everyone who lives here, including the locals, must pay departure tax at the airport. For locals it is a ridiculous 1m rp. Indcoup gives reasons for this, I’d like to add one more. In developing countries, the society is often like a bowl of crabs. When one gets the energy to climb out of the bowl, 3 others hang on to him. Same here, with the government taking the stance ‘if you’ve got money for a foreign trip, you’ve damn well got $110 for us.’

Recently a new law was passed, that offers a tax free place to leave the country, Batam. I was looking at Batam as a possible route to Singapore (domestic flight to Jakarta, on to Batam, ferry to Singapore) which could work out cheaper than flying to Singapore. Batam is a special economic zone at the top of the country. It is located very close to Singapore.

This move may help those Indonesians who hope to find work in Singapore, or take their first trip overseas.