Exit tax scams

Exit tax scams

From Suara Karya

The collection of an exit tax of Rp 500,000, or even Rp 1
million, from Indonesian citizens wishing to go abroad is
probably abused by corrupt officers. Obviously, this will cause
financial losses to the state. Secretary of the Tax Directorate
General M. Soebakir may be annoyed about rumors of the decline in
state income from the exit tax imposed on passengers going abroad
via Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport. Therefore, I propose to the
tax directorate general the following measures:

First, exercise tighter supervision over corrupt officers
allegedly involved in exit tax fraud committed by an exit tax
mafia. Some legal action may need to be taken against them.

Second, tax officers should actively conduct the final check
on passengers' departure documents. Deploying someone from the
tax directorate general to check a passenger's exit tax
settlement will reduce the likelihood of losses being incurred by
the state.

Third, tax directorate general personnel and immigration
officers need to cooperate and understand each other better in
dealing with passenger manifests at the airport as both
institutions' employees are the country's civil servants, whose
job it is to serve the public.

Fourth, immigration officers should not feel that tax
personnel have intervened in their area of duty as it is in the
interests of the nation to boost state income from the tax
sector. Therefore, it isn't wrong if the tax directorate general
and immigration directorate general issue a joint decree on this
matter.

VALERY E. SETIAWAN

Bengkulu