After five days on the run, a tax evader surrenders
After five days on the run, a tax evader surrenders
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After five days on the run from police because of fears of being humiliated by extensive media coverage, a tax evader known simply as JL surrendered to tax officials on Monday.
JL, who runs an import business identified as PT EI in Sawah Besar subdistrict in Central Jakarta, is the first man in the country's history to be jailed for failing to cooperate in settling tax arrears with the state.
The outgoing head of the tax collection division at the Directorate General of Taxation, Djangkung Sudjawardi, said JL surrendered and was picked up by tax officials at an undisclosed location.
Djangkung was quoted by Antara as saying the extensive media coverage had scared JL, who went into hiding after hearing he would be picked up by tax officials to be sent to prison.
He said that officials had reached an agreement that JL would surrender if the department did not bring the media along to cover the arrest.
JL was sent to the Cipinang penitentiary on Monday morning at around 10 a.m., he said.
JL ran away last week after the director general of taxation, Hadi Purnomo, held a press conference to state that JL had been sent to Salemba penitentiary in Central Jakarta. This was not the case but Purnomo could not be reached to clarify his comments.
The tax office said JL had been jailed for an as yet undetermined time for failing to pay Rp 11 billion (US$1.32 million) in tax arrears.
Government Regulation No. 137/2000, which came into effect early in 2001, permits the office to detain tax evaders. However, in the beginning it was reluctant to carry out its mandate given the lack of support from other ministries.
The tax office would only go as far as confiscating the assets of tax evaders or banning them from traveling overseas.
But the office, under pressure to collect higher tax revenue to help finance the state budget, is getting more serious with tax evaders. It recently warned another 70 tax evaders that they could face the same fate of JL if they continued to withhold their tax payments.
Concerning JL's family, who agreed to settle the tax arrears, Djangkung said they could do so but the detention of JL could not be annulled, pending the full payment of his taxes to the state.
Djangkung said JL could file an objection with the administrative court while in detention. In the case of JL winning an appeal against his detainment, the directorate would pay compensation of Rp 100,000 for each day JL was detained and publish an announcement in a domestic newspaper to rehabilitate his name.
As of the first nine months of this year, tax arrears increased by 38 percent to Rp 18 trillion from Rp 13 trillion in the same period last year.