British citizen imprisoned for alleged tax evasion<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Directorate General of Taxation has sent a British citizen
\ndirectly to prison without trial for alleged failure to pay tax
\narrears amounting to Rp 45.8 billion (US$5.38 million).<\/p>\n
It was the second such imprisonment this month of a tax
\nevader.<\/p>\n
Chief warden of the notorious Cipinang penitentiary Djoko
\nMardjo told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that the tax directorate
\nhad imprisoned a man named Mark Michael Greenwood for failing to
\npay taxes to the state.<\/p>\n
\"The tax directorate has sent in a British citizen under the
\nname of Mark Michael Greenwood. I forgot the name of his company,
\nbut he is an executive at an oil firm in partnership with state-
\nowned oil company PT Pertamina,\" said Djoko.<\/p>\n
He said that Mr. Greenwood would share a cell with Jasman Lim,
\nanother convicted tax evader who was detained recently for
\nfailure to pay Rp 11 billion to the tax man.<\/p>\n
The two, however, would be allowed unlimited visits from
\nfriends and family, but that required prior approval from the tax
\ndirectorate, Djoko said.<\/p>\n
According to the tax directorate, the expatriate has not paid
\nincome taxes since 1998.<\/p>\n
Spokesman of the Ministry of Finance Maurin Sitorus told the
\nPost that Minister of Finance Boediono had authorized the
\ndetention of the expatriate pending payment of his taxes to the
\nstate.<\/p>\n
He explained that before issuing the decree, the minister had
\nsummoned officials from the British Embassy to help settle the
\nproblem, but to no avail.<\/p>\n
The tax directorate, under the ministry of finance, said there
\nwere 68 other tax evaders awaiting imprisonment, including 17
\nexpatriates.<\/p>\n
Director General of Taxation Hadi Purnomo said that there was
\none other expatriate who was nearly jailed this week, but his
\ndetention was postponed after he agreed to pay 60 percent of his
\ntotal tax arrears of Rp 42 billion.<\/p>\n
Under a new regulation, the tax directorate can send tax
\nevaders to jail without a standard court trial.<\/p>\n
According to the regulation, the accused can file an objection
\nwith the administrative court while in detention and if he\/she
\nwins an appeal, the directorate will pay compensation of Rp
\n100,000 for each day of detention and publish an announcement in
\na domestic newspaper to restore the reputation of the person
\ninvolved.<\/p>\n
Earlier, international business lobby groups criticized the
\ndirectorate's move, saying it would further undermine the
\ncountry's investment climate.<\/p>\n
They said there were other ways of bringing tax evaders to
\nbear without using a \"17th century\" solution.<\/p>\n
The tax directorate has been aggressively trying to collect
\ntax arrears. In the first nine months of this year tax collection
\nhas increased by 38 percent to Rp 18 trillion from Rp 13 trillion
\nin the same period of last year.<\/p>\n
However, at the same time, corruption and collusion at the
\ndirectorate, apparently in the trillions of rupiah, was still
\nrampant, while the government has tended to turn a blind eye
\ntoward the problem, according to the business associations.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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