Indonesia’s President-elect Prabowo Subianto must enhance tax reforms to address the widening fiscal deficit, World Bank officials said. Carolyn Turk, the World Bank’s country director, stressed the need for prudent, credible, and transparent macro policies to support social protection, human capital, and infrastructure investments. Indonesia’s budget deficit is expected to increase to 2.5% this year from 1.7% last year due to declining commodity prices. Habib Rab, the Bank’s lead economist, recommended reforms like lowering tax thresholds and enhancing audits to boost tax collection, currently 10.2% of GDP. The outgoing administration plans to allocate INR71tr for a free school meal programme, potentially widening the fiscal deficit to 2.21-2.8% next year. Finance minister Sri Mulyani warned of fiscal challenges amid global economic uncertainties.