UNCOVERING TAX EVADERS AFTER DEADLINE OF AMNESTY PROGRAM

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 11 (Antara) - The Indonesian government, which is in dire need of funds to finance its development programs, is harboring high hopes of collecting adequate taxes and is optimistic that taxpayers would meet their tax obligation.         However, several big fish tax evaders hide their assets in banks under the bank secrecy regulation or stash them overseas.         In its efforts to track down tax evaders, the government will cooperate with other countries in the launch of what is called the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI), while at home, the Finance Ministry and the Financial Service Authority (OJK) will issue a policy for the launch of a licensing system to provide access to bank accounts for tax investigation.         Before tightening the nook around tax evaders, the government had given them an opportunity to take part in the tax amnesty program it had launched for nine months from July 2016 until March 31, 2017.         The government has estimated that assets parked abroad were worth Rp4,000 trillion and hopes to repatriate about one thousand trillion rupiah. Thus, the government will be able to collect some Rp165 trillion in redemption money and asset declaration funds in the nine-month period.         However, until the end of the tax amnesty program on March 31, 2017, only Rp1,032 trillion worth of assets were declared overseas, Rp147 trillion others were repatriated, while assets declared at home amounted to Rp3,687 trillion.

GOVT COLLECTS RP105 TRILLION TAX REVENUE WITH TAX AMNESTY PROGRAM

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 29 (Antara) - The government, through its nine-month tax amnesty program ending on March 31, 2017, has as of December 2016 collected Rp105 trillion in tax revenue, or 63.6 percent of its Rp165 trillion target.          In July 2016, the government launched the tax amnesty program to encourage taxpayers to repatriate all assets they had stashed abroad, estimated to amount to Rp4 quadrillion.          The government divided the program into three phases, with the first running from July 18 to September 30, followed by the second from October 1 to December 31, 2016, and the last from January 1 to March 31, 2017.       Under the program, Rp1 quadrillion is expected to flow into the country as repatriated funds, of which the g

GOVERNMENT UNLIKELY TO EXTEND TAX AMNESTY PROGRAM

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 23 (Antara) - As the first phase of the tax amnesty ends on September 30 next week, taxpayers seem to be expecting that it will be extended.         Although the government's tax amnesty program will continue for nine months, from July 15, 2016 to March 31 2017, yet the nine month period is divided into three phases, each with a three-month period.     In the first period, taxpayers joining the tax amnesty program will pay the lowest asset repatriation and declaration fees, compared with the tariffs set for the following two phases.         The declaration tariff for assets at home and overseas has been set, respectively, at two percent and  four percent  for the July-September period; three percent and six percent for the October-December period; and five percent and 10 percent for the January-March 2017 period.         Similarly, the repatriation tariff has been set at two percent for the July-September period, three percent for October-December and five percent for the January-March 2017 period.

HOUSE BACKS GOVERNMENT IN BATTLE ON TAX AMNESTY

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 21 (Antara) - The government is currently facing a legal battle at the Constitutional Court (MK) over its tax amnesty program, which it began enforcing on July 15, 2016.         The aim of the amnesty program is to attract the return of thousands of trillions of rupiah in assets held overseas by Indonesian businessmen who have avoided paying taxes.         After the draft was endorsed by the House of Representatives (DPR) on June 28, 2016, Law No. 11/2016 on Tax Amnesty was issued by the government on July 1, 2016. The tax amnesty program will continue for nine months, from July 15, 2016 until March 31, 2017.         However, the Indonesian People's Struggle Union, One Justice Foundation, three trade union organizations and an Indonesian citizen, Leni Indrawati, filed a petition on July 13, 2016 with the MK, asking for a judicial review of the law.         All petitioners have stated that Law No. 11/2016 is discriminatory in nature against all Indonesian people because it gives an impression of protecting tax evaders from paying taxes that were mandatory.

GOVT URGED TO FURTHER PROMOTE ITS TAX AMNESTY PROGRAM

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 9 (Antara) - The government needs to conduct intensive campaigns to further promote its tax amnesty program so that it will attract more taxpayers and achieve its target of collecting Rp165 trillion from repatriated assets.          The government launched the tax amnesty program last July, hoping to redeem Rp165 trillion from Rp1,000 trillion repatriated assets, out of the estimated Rp4 thousand trillion assets being stashed overseas.          However, up to July 9, the total redemption from repatriated money the government collected amounted to only Rp8 trillion, or about 8.4 percent of the target. It was earlier predicted that significant amount of amnesty penalties would be collected in September, when the first period of three months will end, where redemption tariff is set at four percent.     The trend was in keeping with the prediction made by economists and the government that the participation of taxpayers was likely to increase in September, just as the deadline for the first tax amnesty period approaches.

TAX AMNESTY PROGRAM NOT FOR SMALL TAXPAYERS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 2 (Antara) - Taxpayers belonging to the middle and low-income strata should not worry about the government's tax amnesty program because it will be enforced only on big taxpayers.          According to Chief Economic Minister Darmin Nasution, the main target of the government's tax amnesty program is to net those taxpayers who own big assets but have not yet properly paid taxes.          The tax amnesty plan also targets whose who stashed assets overseas. It is expected that they will avail of the tax amnesty and repatriate to Indonesia the funds they had parked abroad.          The government has estimated that assets worth Rp4,000 trillion are parked abroad, and expects that about one thousand trillion rupiah will be repatriated. Thus, the government will be able to collect some Rp165 trillion in redemption money and asset declaration funds in the coming nine months, from July 2016.          However, up to the end of August, 2016, assets repatriated were not even worth Rp2 trillion.          Following such a response, the government also intends to bring under the umbrella of the tax amnesty program those taxpayers who had not yet paid their due taxes rightfully at home.

BUSINESSES GIVE POSITIVE RESPONSE TO TAX AMNESTY PROGRAM

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 16 (Antara) - The Indonesian capital market, entrepreneurs and public accountants have all positively responded to the tax amnesty program launched by the government to prompt those who have multi-trillion worth of assets stashed abroad to repatriation these.          The Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (Hipmi), the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) and the Accountant & Business Advisers firm, a PKF-affiliated public accountant office, were among those who responded favorably to the tax amnesty plan.          "The tax amnesty program is the best chance and the best solution for tax payers to solve their tax problems," Ahmadi Hadibroto, the executive director of the PKF Public Accountant Office, said in a seminar on tax amnesty in Bandung, West Java, on Monday.          The program, according to Hadibroto, was launched to facilitate taxpayers to fulfill their obligations and to free them from the tax related mistakes they had made in the past. It also aims to bring assets parked overseas by Indonesian businesses so that these could be used for development at home.

CAPITAL MARKET HOPES FOR SUCCESS OF TAX AMNESTY PROGRAM

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 10 (Antara) - The Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) is of the view that industry players in the capital market expect the tax amnesty program to succeed and have a positive impact on the country's economic development.          "The Indonesian capital market is ready to support the implementation of the tax amnesty policy, both in terms of regulation and infrastructure," said President Director of BEI Tito Sulistio on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Tax Amnesty's Integrated One-Stop Services (One Stop Service) in Jakarta on Wednesday.          He added that the one-stop integrated services will facilitate the taxpayers to consult about the tax amnesty, the payment rate of the tax amnesty, as well as seek answers to questions about capital market investment products and the "gateway" facilities such as securities companies.          "The success of this policy will have a positive impact, not only on the fiscal management of the country, but also the sustainability of growth in national economic activity going forward," he noted.

MINISTER VOWS TO IMPLEMENT TAX AMNESTY PROGRAM

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, July 30 (Antara) - Indonesia's New Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has vowed to ensure that the government's amnesty program, expected to earn Rp165 trillion for the state from overseas assets' repatriation, turns out to be a success.          While taking over his new office on Wednesday (July 27), Minister Mulyani admitted that tax amnesty program is part of the government's fiscal policy and the state budget management.          Therefore, the tax amnesty program, policies and the targets that have been set should be implemented cautiously. After all, proceeds from the tax amnesty program are expected to help cover the state's budget deficit as stated in the revised 2016 state budget.          The House of Representatives (DPR) passed into law the tax amnesty and amended the 2016 state budget bills at a plenary session on June 28, 2016. The amended budget has a deficit of Rp296.7 trillion.          Sri Mulyani will study the tax amnesty program comprehensively, including targets that have been set, so that the policy would provide concrete benefits when it comes to fiscal instruments and state budget expenditures.

PROJECTS BEING READIED TO ACCOMMODATE REPATRIATED FUNDS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, July 14 (Antara) - Following the endorsement by the House of Representatives (DPR) of the Tax Amnesty Law recently, the government is preparing projects to accommodate the repatriation of funds so far parked abroad.         Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro had previously forecast that taxpayers registering to avail the tax amnesty program would declare their overseas assets, estimated to be around Rp4 thousand trillion, while an amount to the tune of Rp1 thousand trillion is expected to flow in as repatriated funds.         The government hopes to mop up Rp165 trillion in taxes from tax redemptions and asset declarations prompted by the repatriated money.         To absorb the funds, the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs will soon decide upon certain priority projects backed by the government.         "We will hold a meeting with the State-owned Enterprises (SOE) to carefully formulate projects and set criteria to ensure that those placed best can receive these funds through sale of shares and the issuance of bonds or securities," Chief Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said in Jakarta on Thursday.