State treasurers lax on tax collection: Fuad

State treasurers lax on tax collection: Fuad

JAKARTA (JP): Many treasurers of government offices either
omit to pass on tax payments made by government suppliers or help
those contractors to pay less tax than they owe, according to Tax
Director General Fuad Bawazier.

Fuad said yesterday that such illegal practices had resulted
in great losses to the state, although he did not provide details
of the amounts involved.

Treasurers of government offices are responsible for
collecting taxes from companies with which they are involved in
carrying out government projects.

The tax director general said that few government-employed
treasurers achieved the minimum tax collection targets set for
them. He added that, roughly-speaking, the tax revenue target
from government projects was 1.5 percent of the projects' value.

Fuad said that in the current 1995/1996 fiscal year, the tax
directorate general expected to raise Rp 450 billion (US$ 204.54
million) in tax revenue from government projects, the value of
which was estimated to be Rp 30 trillion ($13.5 billion), he
said.

"Many state-employed treasurers seem to forget to collect the
taxes required from those involved in government projects," Fuad
said in an address at the opening of a two-week taxation
workshop.

Fuad said that, while many treasurers of government offices
did collect the relevant taxes, the amounts which they deducted
from payments made to private contractors were often well below
what was due.

"Others do collect the taxes in accordance with the procedures
but then delay in passing the revenue on to the tax office," he
told the workshop, which is being held especially for treasurers
of government offices all over Indonesia.

Fuad said that the government planned to impose stiffer
penalties on recalcitrant treasury officials in order eradicate
the corrupt practices.

"Government offices will be responsible for disciplining their
respective treasurers," he said.

During the 1994/1995 fiscal year, ended in March, 11 officials
of the tax directorate general have been dismissed on the grounds
of corruption and more than 150 others have received harsh
punishments, Fuad said.(hen)