Bribery scandal<\/p>\n
The mass media has recently carried many reports on alleged
\nbribery of Indonesian tax officers and other government officials
\n(from the State Secretariat and the National Development Planning
\nBoard) by a number of Japanese contractors operating in
\nIndonesia. They reportedly included Kajima, Taisei, Obayashi,
\nTekken, Tokay Kagyo and also Udinda, an Indonesian enterprise,
\nand were aimed at either obtaining tax concessions or winning
\ntenders of projects financed by Japan's Overseas Development
\nAgency. Bribes reportedly came to hundreds of millions of yen or
\ntens of billions of rupiah. Allegations were exposed by Japan's
\ntax bureau, which carried out its investigation into the head
\noffices of the above Japanese contractors in Japan.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government must pay serious attention to this
\nmatter to ensure that its reputation will not be tarnished and
\nalso that such cases, if true, will not recur. To show its
\nsincerity in this respect, the government must carry out its own
\nthorough investigation and bring to court anybody accused of
\nbribery pursuant to Anticorruption Law No. 3\/1971. In Indonesia,
\nthose authorized to conduct this investigation are the
\nDirectorate General of Taxation, the Inspector General of the
\nMinistry of Finance, the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP),
\nthe Police and the Attorney General's Office.<\/p>\n
They all must establish cooperation in carrying out this
\ninvestigation, which may be conducted as follows:<\/p>\n
(a) All tax documents kept at the Directorate General of
\nTaxation must be examined to find out whether there are any
\nirregularities. As these contractors are foreign companies, the
\ntax documents may be kept at the Jakarta Tax Service for
\nCorporate Taxpayers and Aliens. Information must be sought from
\ntax officers handling tax requirements of these Japanese
\ncontractors in 1996 and 1997.<\/p>\n
(b) The Directorate General of Taxation can contact Japan's
\ntax bureau to request information about the results of its
\ninvestigation. Indonesia and Japan have signed an agreement on an
\nexchange of tax information regarding taxpayers in the two
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
(c) Summon and examine the representatives in Indonesia of the
\nJapanese contractors to determine to whom the alleged bribes were
\nmade.<\/p>\n
The Directorate General of Taxation must not remain idle on
\nthe pretext that the mass media reports are general in nature and
\nlack clarity. Please pay attention to this matter. Government
\nofficials involved in corruption must not be protected.<\/p>\n
SUHARSONO HADIKUSUMO<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bribery-scandal-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }