Tax offices claim property tax hike a result of calculating errors

Tax offices claim property tax hike a result of calculating errors

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Rocketing property tax in Jakarta, which has recently upset
many taxpayers, has been called a "miscalculation or wrong data
given by tax officials" at the mayoralty tax offices.

Director of property tax at the Ministry of Finance, Suharno,
told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that the Directorate General
of Tax had only imposed an increase of 5 percent of property tax
since Jan. 1. The hike, he claimed, was disseminated by the city
administration last year.

"The increase is not meant for the general public but for
business centers and luxury residences only. If the hike appears
too high from the percentage, it is probably caused by a
miscalculation or the wrong data being given by a tax official,"
he said.

The good news is taxpayers can make a complaint, claiming that
the increase is an error. Unfortunately, those who do not inform
the office of the miscalculation will not get their money back.

"All we can do now is to appeal to the public to report any
unexplainable hikes to the complaint division at each mayoralty
tax office. We won't be able to investigate the errors without
their report," Suharno said.

When the Post visited several tax offices, no signs or
announcements explaining the procedure to challenge the hike were
posted. There was no information included on the tax brochure.

One taxpayer, Agus Dharmono, asked several officials at the
West Jakarta tax office on Jl. K.S. Tubun, Central Jakarta,
before finding the complaint division for filling in the form
objecting to the increase. Agus must pay Rp 2.2 million (US$220)
this year, a 300 percent hike from last year's total of Rp
700,000.

Officials explained that should a taxpayer not get a
satisfactory answer for his complaint, he should bring the matter
to court.

Despite objections from taxpayers, Suharno said his office
must carry out the increases in tax based on the results of a
survey conducted by the assessment division of each mayoralty tax
office.

He also said that the administration was not in a position to
reject the hike.

"Governor Sutiyoso doesn't have the right to reject the plan.
The administration only carries out tax collection and is not
involved in policy-making. This is just between the tax
directorate and the taxpayers. We usually just inform the
governor on the hike, which we already have," he said.

Suharno also suggested those taxpayers who object to the hike
to protest or consult with the complaint division of the office
before August.

The tax assessment was based on two categories of property,
land and building. The sale value (NJOP) was calculated on the
assessment of the width and value of the property, which was
based on the market value of the area.

Land located on a strategic main road, such as Jl. Sudirman in
Central Jakarta, was valued higher than land on Jl. Bulevar
Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. The difference being that Jl.
Sudirman is a commercial business area, while Jl. Kelapa Gading
is residential.

A survey team from each mayoralty office was deployed last
April to assess every road and residential area, including taking
pictures of each building, to plan for an increase of property
tax for the next year.

But an official at the Central Jakarta tax office, who asked
for anonymity, told the Post that the survey team lacked
personnel. Therefore, the building or land assessment was
conducted arbitrarily without an adequate survey.

This year alone, the Directorate General of Tax is projected
to earn Rp 5.9 trillion from property tax, a Rp 900 million jump
over taxes collected last year. There are about 1.6 million
taxpayers throughout the capital.