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.