Illegal tax consultants

PURWOKERTO, Central Java: The government acknowledged yesterday that it is unable to crack down on consultants who manipulate firms' financial statements to pay less taxes.

Head of the Central Java and Yogyakarta Office of the Directorate General of Tax Waluyo Daryadi said that the unauthorized consultants have caused substantial losses to the state.

"Those illegal tax consultants rake profits from taxpayers as well," he told The Jakarta Post after delivering a speech on taxation at Soedirman University here.

He said the consultants, who have no license from ministry of finance, promised the taxpayers, mostly businessmen, that they could manipulate the taxpayers' financial reports and thereby reduce the amount of tax paid.

He said a car dealer and a producer of artificial eyelashes in Banyumas, Central Java, had been in trouble with the local tax office for having had their financial reports manipulated by the illegal consultants.(wah/imn)