Foundations subject to tax

Foundations subject to tax

From Bisnis Indonesia

The foundations set up by former president Soeharto no longer
have special facilities and they will even have to pay tax.

In all fairness, and in order to increase state funds
coming from income tax as set in the 1999/2000 State Budget, all
foundations, without exception, are subject to tax.

Numerous businesses masquerading under the name of foundations
have been involved in the education sector, ranging from
kindergarten to university levels, and have reaped huge profits.

In this context, President B.J. Habibie should have the
courage to issue regulations obliging private schools (including
favored ones) to admit students, say 30 percent of their
capacity, from indigenous families who are fairly poor. Remember,
the social gap resulted from the system developed by the New
Order. Way back during the Sukarno era, a wide social gap was
virtually nonexistent. The rich were fairly modest in their
lifestyles and the poor accepted their condition as part of
belonging to the majority. Back then we witnessed harmonious
relations among people of different strata, between indigenous
people and nonindigenous people, no segregation or boundaries
whatsoever.

However, the present setting in terms of disharmony is awfully
striking.

TAUFIK KARMADI

Jakarta