Lana Soelistianingsih, economist at Samuel Aset Manajemen, said it will be very difficult for Indonesian authorities to achieve its 11.5 percent tax-to-GDP ratio target in 2017 despite the positive impact of the government's recently completed tax amnesty program.

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The Indonesian government should take more action to reverse the country's widening income distribution inequality. Indonesia's Gini ratio, the coefficient that measures inequality among income distribution, has risen in 2013 according to economist Lana Soelistianingsih. The Gini coefficient rose from 0.37 in 2012 to 0.41 in 2013 (a coefficient of zero expresses perfect equality, while one implies maximal inequality). The growth not only shows that the Indonesian government fails to tackle this problem but also implies social risks.

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An interesting interview with Lana Soelistianingsih was published in Indonesian tabloid Kontan, a magazine that focuses on the economy and financial markets of Indonesia. Soelistianingsih is Head of Economy at Samuel Aset Manajemen as well as a teacher at the Economics Department of the University of Indonesia. The topic of the interview is crude oil.

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The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) is optimistic that the country's currency will continue to appreciate against the US dollar in the first quarter of 2014. Executive Director at the Economic and Monetary Policy Department of Bank Indonesia Juda Agung said that there are two factors that impact positively on the performance of the Indonesian rupiah exchange rate: the improved global economy and strengthening domestic economic fundamentals. However, Agung declined to estimate the value of the rupiah by the end of Q1-2014.

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