Weak supervision nurtures corruption at tax office<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The weak supervisory system of the tax office is seen as one
\nof the main factors for corruption among tax officials, which
\nresults in massive state losses and a poor business environment.<\/p>\n
A senior official at the Ministry of Finance who requested
\nanonymity said the four institutions that supervise the tax
\noffice were toothless because their authority to investigate
\ncorruption was limited.<\/p>\n
\"In general, the four institutions have the same type of
\ntasks. But due to the lack of regulations, they don't have the
\nadequate authority to follow up complaints from taxpayers over
\ncorruption by tax officials,\" the official said.<\/p>\n
Questions over the effectiveness of the supervision of the tax
\noffice arose after several businesspeople told The Jakarta Post
\nrecently that they had been extorted by tax officials.<\/p>\n
Businessmen B.Q. Vega and Widodo Latip have joined together in
\nsuing the tax office in the Constitutional Court and the
\nadministrative court, and are planning to report the extortion to
\nthe police.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Finance's Inspectorate General, the National
\nOmbudsman Commission (NOC), the State Comptroller (BPKP) and the
\nSupreme Audit Agency (BPK) are meant to supervise the tax office.<\/p>\n
Under current regulations, the BPKP and BPK only ensure the
\ncompliance of the tax office with tax regulations and its
\naccountability in the use of state funds. The agencies do not
\nhave the authority to follow up on corruption reports from
\ntaxpayers.<\/p>\n
The lead in combating corruption at the tax office is meant to
\ncome from the Inspectorate General and the NOC. However, the NOC
\nis completely toothless because it lacks the authority to
\ninvestigate any reports or complaints from taxpayers.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the NOC, Antonius Sudjata, told the Post
\nrecently that based on its agreement it signed with the Ministry
\nof Finance in mid-2002, the ombudsman commission could only
\nforward taxpayers' complaints to the tax office, nothing more.<\/p>\n
\"Our task is to receive complaints from taxpayers and then
\nsend them to the tax office to be settled,\" said Antonius, adding
\nthat thus far the NOC had only received 18 complaints.<\/p>\n
The Inspectorate General has more power than the NOC, as it
\ncan investigate reports of corruption from taxpayers and penalize
\nthose tax officials involved.<\/p>\n
However, the office cannot function effectively because it
\ndoes not have the authority to seek evidence of corruption from
\ntaxpayers who file complaints. The office can only investigate he
\naccused tax officials, without being able to confirm the results
\nof the investigation with the complainants.<\/p>\n
The senior official from the finance ministry said that due to
\nthese limitations, the Inspectorate General planned to propose to
\nthe minister of finance that it be given wider authority,
\nincluding the power to seek direct evidence from taxpayers.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Finance's Inspector General Agus Muhammad did
\nnot deny this plan.<\/p>\n
Agus told the Post his agency had difficulty following up
\ncomplaints from taxpayers as it was unable to collect facts
\ndirectly from them without prior approval from the tax office.<\/p>\n
\"The Inspectorate General has received hundreds of complaints
\nfrom taxpayers, however, we are not allowed to directly seek
\nfurther evidence from them. We only receive one-sided evidence
\nfrom the tax office concerning the complaints,\" said Agus.<\/p>\n
The Inspectorate General found irregularities totaling Rp 753
\nbillion (US$88.5 million) and $119,818 at the Directorate General
\nof Taxation during the first nine months of 2003. In 2002, the
\noffice found irregularities totaling Rp 1.97 trillion and $3.83
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
Director General of Taxation Hadi Purnomo earlier said the tax
\noffice, which is expected to collect Rp 216 trillion in taxes for
\nthe state budget this year, did not need a new system of
\nsupervision because the current supervisory agencies were
\nadequate.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/weak-supervision-nurtures-corruption-at-tax-office-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}