PT Timor managed by government

I once read in a Jakarta daily that Minister of Industry and Trade Rahardi Ramelan said that if by March 26, 1999, PT Timor Putera Nasional (PT TPN) had not settled its tax debt amounting to Rp 3.029 trillion, its assets would be managed by the government. It is not clear, however, what is meant by "managed".

It should be noted that Law No. 19/1999 stipulates a provision on the procedure for tax collection with a distress warrant. If after the issuance of a distress warrant the tax debt is still unpaid, the taxpayer's fixed and movable assets may be confiscated by a tax agency. If the tax debt is still owing even after asset confiscation, the assets will be publicly auctioned through the State Auction Office. It should also be noted that in the case of PT TPN, only the assets owned by this company would be confiscated, not the entire PT TPN as a statutory body plus all its rights and liabilities. PT TPN would continue to exist until pronounced bankrupt by a court of law at the request of the debtors. If the government wishes to control the assets of PT TPN, it must purchase them through the auction and cannot simply control them. In this case, the government must weigh thoroughly the advantages and the disadvantages of managing or taking over PT TPN because the company has huge debts. Of course, Tommy Soeharto would be very glad if the government wished to manage or control PT TPN. He would then no longer need to find ways to settle the company's huge debts as all the company's liabilities would be taken over by the government. In this case, the employees of the company would also be happy because they would not be laid off.

Does the government really wish to help Tommy Soeharto? Is it because PT TPN was a national project initiated by former president Soeharto? One may guess, then, that the imposition of the Rp 3.029 trillion tax is only a hidden way to help out PT TPN, 99 percent of whose shares are in the hands of Tommy Soeharto. The Indonesian people and the House of Representatives must exercise caution against the government's action in this respect as otherwise the state and the people will be disadvantaged.

SUHARSONO HADIKUSUMO

Jakarta