KPK urges tax officials be subject to criminal law
KPK urges tax officials be subject to criminal law
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has suggested that
the tax law amendments currently being drafted stipulate that
wrongdoings by tax officials be considered criminal acts of
corruption that should be open to legal prosecution, in order to
provide a sense of equality in the tax system.
The country's antigraft watchdog also opposed giving greater
authority to the tax office without adequate supervision, arguing
that it could lead to corruption and abuse of power, thus
undermining the government's efforts to improve public services
through tax reforms.
Speaking at Tuesday's hearing with the House of
Representatives' commission on tax amendments, KPK chairman
Taufiqurrahman Ruki said that since tax revenues directly involve
tax collection and are directly administered by tax officials,
any misconduct involving funds or procedures should be defined as
corruption.
"A wrong assessment of the amount of taxes to be paid can be
considered as corruption. It's similar to any wrongdoings for an
individual's benefit that cause losses to the state, and as such
meets the definition of a criminal act of corruption according to
Law No. 31/1999 on anticorruption," he said.
"By stipulating such misconduct as corruption, the involvement
of police, prosecutors and the KPK will ensure proper handling
(of these cases). This is to ensure equality between tax
officials and taxpayers."
In the government-proposed amendments to the tax laws, harsh
sanctions -- including imprisonment -- would be imposed on
taxpayers on indications of wrongly assessed tax. On the other
hand, any violations by tax officials would only attract
administrative sanctions through the finance ministry's internal
control system.
The issue has sparked public debate on concerns that the draft
laws will in fact be detrimental to the country's business and
investment climate.
Taufiqurrahman emphasized the principle of equal treatment
between taxpayers and tax officials, considering that Indonesia's
tax system is based on self-assessment.
"It also means that tax officials should guide and supervise
tax assessment. But in reality, taxpayers are so afraid of the
tax office due to their overwhelming power and sanctions," he
said.
He pointed to the possibility of abuse of power and violation
of taxpayers rights by tax officials.
Therefore, Taufiqurrahman suggested that the new tax laws
clearly define tax officials' duties and responsibilities in the
tax administration process, including the procedures and
documents needed to pay tax, the verification time and the amount
of tax payable.
"Any complaints on assessments should also be quickly resolved
by independent tax courts, within a maximum one month's time, the
KPK is suggesting," he said.
Taufiqurrahman said KPK has yet to focus on uncovering rampant
corruption practices in the tax office, but has recently been
assessing many complaints from taxpayers, especially regarding
tax restitution claims, again showing how the current tax regime
still fails to fulfill the equality principle.