Salim and Telkom head lists of largest taxpayers

JAKARTA (JP): Tycoon Soedono Salim of the widely diversified Salim Group and PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia have topped the lists of largest individual and corporate taxpayers respectively for 1996.

Soedono, alias Liem Sioe Liong, retains his top spot while Telkom, the state-owned telecommunications company, moves up one spot from 1995, according to the lists of Indonesia's 200 largest individual taxpayers and 200 biggest corporate taxpayers announced by Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad yesterday.

The minister declined to disclose the amount of income taxes each of the 400 individuals and corporations paid in 1996.

But Director General for Taxation Fuad Bawazier said the amount paid by the biggest individual taxpayers totaled Rp 211.53 billion (US$25.79 million at yesterday's exchange rate of 8,200 to the dollar), or 2.3 percent of the total individual income taxes collected in 1996.

The largest corporate taxpayers paid Rp 5.6 trillion, or 31.2 percent of the total corporate income taxes collected for the year.

The government announces the list of largest taxpayers every year as part of its campaign to encourage individuals and companies to meet their tax obligations. The announcement is usually followed by a dinner in which the government presents certificates of appreciation to those on the list.

Only five of the 10 largest individual taxpayers in 1995 remain in the top-ten bracket for 1996. Among the five newcomers, two names -- Suhadi and Arifin Sarodji -- were not even on the list of 200 in 1995.

Their names prompted questions from reporters at the briefing but Fuad declined to state who they were or what companies they owned.

"Both are residents of East Jakarta. That's all I can tell you," he said. "Their presence means the government's dependence on a certain group of taxpayers has declined. That's good."

Eka Tjipta Widjaja, chairman of the Sinar Mas Group, remains in the second spot, while Prajogo Pangestu, chairman of the Barito Pacific Group, moved up from ninth to third place.

Liem's son Anthony Salim moved up from eighth to fifth place, while Bambang Trihatmodjo, President Soeharto's second son and owner of the Bimantara Group, moved up from 10th to eighth.

Hutomo Mandala Putra, Soeharto's youngest son and chairman of the Humpuss Group, made it to the top 10, moving from 13th place to ninth.

Soeharto's other children in the top 200 individuals are Sigit Harjojudanto at 14th place and Siti Hediati Prabowo at 135th. His eldest daughter, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, is not on the list, but her husband Indra Rukmana, who is also in business, ranks 16th.

Other prominent businesspeople in the top 200 include Sudwikatmono (12th), Mohammad (Bob) Hasan (21st), Ibrahim Risjad (22nd), Mochtar Riyadi (26th), Aburizal Bakrie (50th), Sofjan Wanandi (126th), Marimutu Sinivasan (58th), Jakob Oetama (47th), Soebronto Laras (60th), Rudy Ramli (145th), Hasyim Djojohadikusumo (189th) and Sukamdani S Gitosardjono (102nd).

The one new name on the list of the 10 largest corporate taxpayers, Bank International Indonesia, moved up from 14th to eighth place.

There are 43 banks on the list of the top 200 corporate taxpayers, including six state banks and 16 local private banks. The remaining are foreign and joint venture banks.

PT Kompas Media Nusantara, ranked 44th, and PT Gramedia, ranked 159th, are the only media and press companies in the top 200. (aly)

Table: 10 largest taxpayers in 1996 (1995 rank in brackets)

(CORPORATE; INDIVIDUAL): (1. PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (2); 1. Soedono Salim (1)), (2. PT Freeport Indonesia Co. (1); 2. Eka Tjipta Widjaja (2)), (3. PT Gudang Garam (5); 3. Prajogo Pangestu (9)), (4. PT Indonesia Satellite Corp. (3); 4. Suhadi (-)), (5. PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna (4); 5. Anthony Salim (8)), (6. PT Bank Negara Indonesia (7); 6. Putera Sampoerna (11)), (7. PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (10); 7. Sukanto Tanoto (16)), (8. PT Bank International Indonesia (14); 8. Bambang Trihatmodjo (10)), (9. PT Indoncement Tunggal Prakasa (6); 9. Hutomo Mandala Putra (13)), (10. PT Bank Expor Impor Indonesia (8); 10. Arifin Sarodji (-)).

(-): not included in the 200 largest list in 1995

Source: Ministry of Finance