Government threatens to seize assets of Timor executives<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government threatened on Tuesday to
\nconfiscate assets of PT Timor Putra's senior executives,
\ncommissioners and shareholders if the value of the company's
\nassets fell short of the amount of back taxes owed by the
\ncompany.<\/p>\n
Director General of Taxes Hadi Poernomo said here on Tuesday
\nhis office was valuing the assets of the car company, which owes
\nthe government Rp 3.2 trillion (about US$320 million) in back
\ntaxes.<\/p>\n
\"If it is not enough then we will take the shortfall from the
\nboard of directors. If its still not enough then from the board
\nof commissioners' assets, and if that's also not enough then from
\nthe shareholders' assets,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Hadi was speaking to reporters after accompanying Vice
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri and House of Representatives
\nSpeaker Akbar Tandjung to hand in their tax returns to the
\ndirectorate general.<\/p>\n
Early this month the Supreme Court ordered Timor to pay its
\ntaxes and duties, overruling an original agreement between the
\nIndonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) and South Korea's Kia
\nMotor to restructure the company.<\/p>\n
Before the ruling, the government had agreed to restructure
\nTimor's $521.5 million debts, which would result in IBRA owning
\n69 percent of the new joint venture company PT Kia Timor Motors
\n(KTM) and Kia Motor of South Korea and Timor owning the
\nremainder.<\/p>\n
The ruling gave the Directorate General of Tax precedence over
\nIBRA in regard to claims on Timor's assets, Hadi said.<\/p>\n
\"We had the first claim, so whatever happens the payment of
\ntaxes has first priority,\" he said, adding that he was waiting
\nfor the commission to take over the assets from the Supreme
\nCourt.<\/p>\n
Timor Putra Nasional, owned by former president Soeharto's
\nyoungest son Hutomo \"Tommy\" Mandala Putra, was appointed in the
\n1990s to develop a national car project in cooperation with South
\nKorean automotive company Kia Motor.<\/p>\n
The company was exempt from import duties and luxury tax for
\nthree years, on condition that the cars' local content reached at
\nleast 20 percent in the first year of the program, 40 percent by
\nthe end of the second year and 60 percent by the end of the third
\nyear.<\/p>\n
However, the company defaulted on the requirements and lost
\nits powerful government support after the ousting of Soeharto in
\nMay 1998. It was later ordered to pay Rp 3.2 trillion in back
\ntaxes and duties.<\/p>\n
Also submitting his 2000 tax return on Tuesday was Sophan
\nSophian, a legislature of the House of Representatives and member
\nof the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman Wahid was scheduled to hand in his tax
\nreturn on Thursday. The deadline for filing 2000 tax returns is
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
Hadi said that the tax receipts dropped slightly to Rp 92.14
\ntrillion in 2000 from Rp 95.57 trillion in the 1999\/2000 fiscal
\nyear due to the shorter period of the fiscal year.<\/p>\n
The 2000 fiscal year was from April to December due to the
\nchange in the start of the fiscal year from April to January
\nbeginning this year.<\/p>\n
He said that tax receipts for the first two months of the
\ncurrent fiscal year had reached a total of Rp 21.7 trillion,
\nabout 14 percent of the Rp 152.4 trillion targeted for the whole
\nyear.(tnt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-threatens-to-seize-assets-of-timor-executives-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}