Caution greets plan to expose tax dodgers
Caution greets plan to expose tax dodgers
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
While hailing the government's move to name and shame
delinquent taxpayers, a businessman and an expert warned
separately that the move could turn into a new corruption tool
for tax officials.
Luhut Pangaribuan, a legal expert said the move would increase
transparency in taxation, but would not end collusion between tax
officials and tax dodgers.
"By publishing their names, the government wants to prevent
shady deals between taxpayers and tax officials," Luhut told The
Jakarta Post on Friday.
He warned, however, that corrupt tax officials could use the
threat as a tool to blackmail taxpayers.
"Corrupt tax officials could well try to exact backroom deals,
using the threat of identity disclosure," Luhut said.
Jimanto, the secretary-general of the Indonesian Employers
Association (Apindo), welcomed the move, saying that by naming
and shaming tax cheats, the government would reduce the
opportunities for businessmen and tax officials to collude.
"It is a good move. It poses no problems for us. The tax
office is welcome to publish the identities of taxpayers they
consider delinquent. They will be more willing to pay their taxes
once their names are published," he said.
They made the comments after the Director General of Taxation
released the initials of three foreign and two Indonesian
businessmen who were barred from leaving the country after
failing to pay billions of rupiah in tax arrears.
The office has also published the full identities of many
other delinquent taxpayers in national and local newspapers.
Head of the Tax Collection Division at the Directorate General
of Taxation Djangkung Sudjawardi said the directorate had decided
to publicly announce the identities of tax dodgers if they still
refused to show up at their local tax offices despite repeated
summonses.
"Normally, after we publish their names, they come running to
the tax office to settle their arrears," Djangkung said.
Taxpayers who still refused to come to the tax office after
their names had been published would have their assets seized by
the tax authorities. They would also be barred from leaving the
country.
Djangkung added that the name and shame campaign was necessary
to increase tax receipts, which were the main source of revenue
for the state budget.
Tax arrears reached Rp 19.6 trillion and US$ 15.1 million as
of August this year.
These figures consisted of individual and corporate tax
arrears accumulated over the past ten years. The total rupiah tax
arrears of Rp 19.6 trillion were five times the Rp 4.304 trillion
allocated for social welfare, health and women's empowerment
under the state budget this year, and far bigger than the Rp
11.55 trillion set aside for education, national culture, and
youth and sports affairs.