Tax office to jail three more foreign nationals
Tax office to jail three more foreign nationals
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Directorate General of Taxation is seeking to jail three
foreigners without trial for tax evasion, after locking up a
Briton last year for the same crime.
Djangkung Sudjawardi, an expert staff at the directorate, said
on Thursday that the move followed a request from a provincial
tax office.
"We are still making necessary preparations to detain the
expatriates. We have yet to seek the approval of the Minister of
Finance," said Djangkung, former head of tax collection at the
directorate.
The tax directorate falls under the auspices of the Ministry
of Finance.
Djangkung said the three foreign nationals were on a new list
of 41 tax evaders accused of refusing or failing to pay corporate
and personnel taxes totaling Rp 287 billion (US$33.7 million) as
of March 17.
The foreign nationals have been barred from leaving the
country.
Djangkung declined to reveal the identities of the three
foreigners, fearing intervention by their respective embassies.
He hinted that the detention plan was proposed by the West
Java tax office, which oversees Banten province and several
cities in West Java, including Bogor, Cibinong and Depok.
The directorate plans to inform the embassies of the three
foreigners once the finance minister approves the detention plan.
According to existing regulations, the Directorate General of
Taxation is authorized to send tax evaders to jail without trial
for a maximum period of one year, after which the directorate is
to hand the case over to the police.
In the case of those defaulting on government taxes such as
income tax, land and property tax and value-added tax, the tax
office must first obtain the approval of the finance minister
before detaining a suspect.
In the case of local taxes such as vehicle tax, restaurant tax
and entertainment tax, local tax officials need only obtain
approval from the relevant governor to detain a suspect.
Last November, the tax office sent British national Mark
Greenwood to prison without trial for his alleged failure to pay
Rp 45.8 billion in tax arrears. The case, involving a foreign
national, was the first of its kind in the country.
According to the tax directorate, Greenwood had not paid
income taxes since 1998.
In October, the directorate had sent Indonesian businessman
Jasman Lim for failing to pay Rp 11 billion in taxes.
Greenwood and Jasman are both inmates at the notorious high-
security Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta.
Djangkung said the directorate was likely to extend
Greenwood's detention for another six months, as he had not made
any effort to pay off his tax arrears. Greenwood's first six
months in detention expires on May 10.
As for Jasman, whose jail term ends on April 27, the
directorate had yet to consider an extension, as he had begun
paying off his tax arrears in installments.
International business lobby groups have criticized the
directorate's move to detain foreigners without trial, arguing
that it would further undermine the country's investment climate.