British Embassy takes action over Greenwood arrest
British Embassy takes action over Greenwood arrest
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The British Embassy in Indonesia is seeking to "free" its
citizen, Mark Michael Greenwood, currently in jail for failing to
pay Rp 45.8 billion (US$5.38 million) in tax arrears, an official
said.
A press officer at the British Embassy, Faye Belnis, told The
Jakarta Post on Wednesday that the embassy had been aware of the
arrest, and that its staff were seeking to establish contact with
Greenwood in an attempt to free him.
"The staff are going to be handling this matter. We have big
concerns over the issue, which is why we are trying to sort this
(problem) out," she said, without elaborating on what the embassy
had in mind.
As a consequence of what has happened, the embassy is
encouraging all British citizen in Indonesia to observe the
taxation legislation of the Indonesian government, she said.
The Directorate General of Taxation ordered Greenwood to be
sent to the notorious Cipinang penitentiary, East Jakarta, on
Monday, without trial, for evading tax obligations since 1998.
Greenwood, an executive with an oil firm partner of state-
owned oil company PT Pertamina, has been put in cell No.3, block
H-3, along with Jasman Lim, an alleged tax evader who was earlier
detained for failure to pay Rp 11 billion in tax arrears.
The tax directorate said 68 other tax evaders were awaiting
imprisonment, including 16 expatriates.
One of the expatriates was nearly jailed this week, but his
detention was postponed at the last minute after he agreed to pay
60 percent of his total tax arrears of Rp 42 billion, said the
tax directorate.
A source at the directorate said the expatriate was a Japanese
citizen.
Earlier, international business lobby groups, such as the
International Chamber of Trade and the Jakarta Japan Club
Foundation, criticized the directorate's move, saying it would
further undermine the country's investment climate.
They said there were other ways of bringing tax evaders to
order without using a "17th-century" solution.
According to the groups, the detention order might have
resulted from the tax office's frustration at the country's weak
legal system in making sure people paid the correct tax.
The tax directorate has aggressively been trying to collect
tax arrears, which in the first nine months of this year have
increased by 38 percent to Rp 18 trillion, from Rp 13 trillion in
the same period last year.
While tax evasion is a problem, the directorate turns a blind
eye to corruption and collusion within its jurisdiction, which
cost the country trillions of rupiah in potential tax revenue
every year, according to the business associations.