Fiscal tax

From Suara Karya

I am an Indonesian, working in Malaysia. On Sept. 14, 1994, I went to Tanjung Balai, Karimun, Riau, to attend to family business. When I left, to return to Malaysia, I encountered problems with my fiscal fee. The tax officials intentionally made the procedure of obtaining the fiscal-free document difficult. The tax office in Tanjung Balai did not want to deal with the matter. Then the affair was handled by PT Mar.

Through the service of this company every worker has to pay Rp 100,000 to Rp 125,000 (Rp 45,000 for the boat ticket and the rest for fiscal tax). This is in spite of the fact every worker has been given a fiscal-free paper, signed by a competent tax officer. Isn't this fee illegal?

There are hundreds of thousands of Indonesian workers in Malaysia. It's time the authorities took the necessary measures to alleviate the burden to the Indonesian workers and punish the officials who have been, and still are, abusing their power.

Name and address

withheld