Constitutional Court defends 'controversial' tax tribunal<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Constitutional Court ruled on Monday that the Tax Tribunal
\nwas constitutional, dismissing the petition from a local
\nbusinessman for the dissolution of the agency.<\/p>\n
The ruling came in a four-to-three split with four of the
\nseven judges of the Court maintaining there was no evidence
\nproving that the Law No. 14\/2002 on Tax Tribunal was against the
\n1945 Constitution. Three other judges argued otherwise, calling
\nfor a revision of the law.<\/p>\n
The four judges said the Tax Tribunal had functioned
\nadequately as an independent court where people could expect a
\nfair trial.<\/p>\n
"Claims by the petitioner that the Tax Tribunal could not
\nfunction as a fair court, and that it closes doors for taxpayers
\nin seeking justice are all inaccurate," said Constitutional Court
\nchief judge Jimly Asshidiqie.<\/p>\n
"The petition has been filed because the petitioner cannot
\nunderstand tax laws and regulations well enough," said Jimly.<\/p>\n
The petition was filed by businessman Cornelio Moningka Vega
\nand his father BQ Vega. They claimed that the Tax Tribunal could
\nnever be independent since it was dependent on the finance
\nministry for various aspects. The ministry, for instance, pays
\nthe salaries of the tribunal's judges and decides their
\npromotions.<\/p>\n
Moreover, they said, unlike other courts, people cannot appeal
\nany decisions made by the tribunal. The decision is considered
\nfinal.<\/p>\n
Under the Tax Tribunal Law, in order to file a suit at the
\ntribunal, taxpayers have first to pay the tax office 50 percent
\nof their arrears. Those who are unable to meet the requirement
\nwould mostly compromise with tax officials and pay them bribes to
\nsettle the dispute over the amount of their taxes.<\/p>\n
Three of the seven judges said in their dissenting opinion
\nthat the obligation for taxpayers to pay 50 percent of arrears
\nbefore going to the Tax Tribunal has denied them the right of
\ngetting court justice and defending themselves against possible
\nmistakes made by tax officials.<\/p>\n
The judges are Laica Marzuki, Mukhtie Fadjar and Maruarar
\nSiahaan.<\/p>\n
The panel of judges noted, however, that the Tax Tribunal
\nshould be reformed to comply with Law No. 4\/2004 on judicial
\nauthority and Law No. 5\/2004 on the Supreme Court which grants
\nthe Supreme Court the authority to supervise all types of courts.<\/p>\n
The panel of judges thus suggested that the supervision of the
\ntribunal should be transferred to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
BQ Vega, who attended the final session, regretted the Court's
\ndecision, saying it would encourage tax officials to continue
\nabusing the tribunal to blackmail taxpayers.<\/p>\n
"We regret that most of the judges don't see that the Tax
\nTribunal Law has become a source of corruption among tax
\nofficials," said Vega.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Directorate General of Taxation Hadi Purnomo
\nwelcomed the decision.<\/p>\n
"We are grateful for the judges since their decision would
\nensure the smooth flow of tax revenue to the state," said Hadi.<\/p>\n
Hadi also insisted that the government would not transfer the
\nsupervision of the Tax Tribunal to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
"The allegation that the Tax Tribunal is used to extort
\ntaxpayers just because it is under the finance ministry is not
\ntrue. If there is any abuse (of authority), we urge taxpayers to
\nreport it to the police rather than spreading rumors," he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/constitutional-court-defends-controversial-tax-tribunal-1447893297",
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