Departure tax: Getting what's due
Debate over the departure tax increase goes on.
It has created serious concerns for people of all walks of life, especially those directly affected, in ways that are too obvious to explain.
Of equal or greater concern is our ability as ordinary citizens to reclaim the departure tax. The higher the government sets the departure tax, the more important it is for us to be entitled to what we deserve in return.
For those who do not know, every tax-paying citizen has the right to file the departure tax as an income tax deduction, as the departure tax is actually a tax in advance.
The media reiterated this many times during the announcement of the increase. However, this is easier said than done, and my personal experience has proven that the whole thing about claiming departure tax is a travesty and a gross violation of our individual rights.
The income tax of a majority of citizens in our country, including me, is deducted and filed by the employer on the employee's behalf. This arrangement means that a majority of citizens do not have tax file numbers, or NPWP.
The same arrangement means that only the employer can claim departure tax on the employee's behalf.
When I asked my employer whether they can claim my departure tax for personal trips abroad, they said that they do not do it because it is an administrative burden.
During the past five years, I have made four personal trips abroad to visit my family. I was able to claim only one, and this was because somebody in our company knew somebody in the tax office. For that service, we had to pay Rp 25,000 per person to that somebody.
It is obvious that there is a loophole in our tax law that deprives us of our right to claim departure tax properly. It is unfair to blame my employer because either a clear set of guidelines for claiming the departure tax is misunderstood or nonexistent.
I therefore urge the government and the tax authorities to pass a law requiring all companies deducting income tax from their employers to file departure tax claims on their behalf as well.
There should be no compromise because after all, it is our hard-earned money.
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