Property tax payment slow

BOGOR (JP): The collection of property taxes in Bogor mayoralty is expected to reach between 60 percent and 70 percent of property taxes due, an official said on Monday.

"It is impossible to expect 100 percent tax collection due mainly to limited personnel," the head of the Bogor property tax office, Djoko Sutrisno, said.

Djoko said his office would be pleased if it achieved the 60 percent to 70 percent collection target.

He said that if the target was achieved, his office would collect about Rp 8.54 billion in property taxes during the 1998/1999 fiscal year, up from Rp 8.45 billion in the 1997/1998 fiscal year and Rp 6.76 billion in the 1996/1997 fiscal year.

Djoko was responding to an announcement by the head of Tanah Sareal village in Bogor, Murtadlo, that he was having difficulty collecting property taxes in the area.

Murtadlo said tax collection was particularly difficult in exclusive housing complexes in the area because many of the homes were left vacant and untended by the owners.

"At one of the housing complexes, Bukit Cimanggu Vila, I have a real headache trying to collect taxes," he said.

The head of the Bogor mayoralty revenue office, Paman Katarso, agreed with Murtadlo, adding that collecting property taxes was difficult in a number of housing complexes in the mayoralty, including Vila Duta, Taman Kencana, Taman Yasmin and Danau Bogor Raya.

"The problem is that most houses there are owned by people living outside of Bogor," he said.

He said his office would give home owners three notices reminding them to pay their property taxes, and if the taxes were still not paid the homes would be sealed off.

"The homes will have to be sealed off because this affects state income," he said.(24/hhr)