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.

BUYUNG EXPECTED TO HELP UNCOVER TAX MAFIA NETWORKS

By Andi Abdussalam

           Jakarta, April 5 (ANTARA) - Former member of presidential advisory  council and senior lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution (Buyung) who has decided to act as a defense counsel to rouge tax official Bayus Tambunan is expected to help uncover the mafia network behind Tambunan's  case of money laundering and tax evasion worth Rp25 billion.

        "I asked Gayus to tell the truth and reveal all those who are implicated. I told him that if he revealed only half of the truth it would be more disadvantageous for him," Buyung said in an interview with Metro TV.

         He hoped that by acting as Gayus's layer he would be able to dig more information on who else were in the mafia networks. There could certainly be many other "Gayus" at the directorate general of taxation who have been operating for years.

         The case of Gayus Tambunan, a tax official of the directorate general of taxation who is now a suspect and under police investigation for his suspicious  account worth Rp25 billion, has led police to name seven suspects, including police officers, and held them.

         Two police brigadier generals are now also under investigation for alleged implication of the Gayus case. This case came to the surface when former police chief detective Commissioner General Susno Duadji recently claimed that two police brigadier generals had been implicated in the Gayus Tambunan case.

         According to Buyung, Gayus needs justice and protection because it's just possible that certain parties would not accept it and would try to use all means to silence him if he reveals all involved in the crimes.

          "Yesterday (on Saturday, April 3), I met Gayus to convince myself whether he would be honest or not to tell the truth. He said he had committed the embezzlement under a request and coercion of a person," Buyung was quoted by Media Indonesia daily on Monday as saying.

          According to Buyung, the confession of Gayus indicates the existence of a "boss" who organizes tax evasion mafia. It is obvious that a 'play director' exists. Now it depends on the expertise of investigators to see where a strand of a spider web is leading to.

         "It should not happen that Gayus is made victim of a tax mafia," Buyung said.

         According to Buyung, examinations must be carried out on individuals in law enforcing institutions such as the prosecutor's office, police and the finance ministry.

         Earlier, public prosecutors have investigated Gayus for his suspicious account with funds amounting to Rp25 billion. However, the prosecutors were alleged to have fabricated the dossiers and scrapped two articles on Gayus charges, namely on money laundering and corruption.

         There was an indication of money laundering with the suspicious funds worth Rp25 billion as the origin of these funds was not clear. But the public prosecutor (Cyrus Sinaga) only charged the suspect with  embezzlement of Rp450 million.

         This led presiding judge M Asnun, with jury members Bambang Widiatmoko and Haran Tarigan, acquitted the suspect from all charges on March 12, 2010.

         Therefore,  Buyung Nasution has challenged Attorney General Hendarman Supandji to uncover court mafia practices at his office.

         "I challenge the attorney general to uncover all the mafia cases," Buyung, said on Monday. He said that Tambunan's case could serve as an entry point for investigators to fight judicial mafia.

         He said the attorney general should take immediate steps to examine investigators and public prosecutors who were involved in the investigation of Gayus Tambunan's case as there had been  'oddities' in its handling of the Gayus Tambunan.

         There was an indication of money laundering with the suspicious funds worth Rp25 billion as the origin of these funds was not clear.

         "This is a golden chance for the efforts to uncover all court mafia cases. The Gayus case is a blessing from God which could be used for a cleaning up exercise," Nasution said.

         But he said uncovering all judicial mafia cases would need the preparedness of all sides like police, the prosecutor's office and the finance ministry, in this case the directorate general of taxation.

          In the meantime, National Police Headquarters Chief Spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang said police were still waiting for enough evidence before they could examine prosecutors in connection with Gayus Tambunan's allegedly engineered tax embezzlement case.

         "We will examine them if we already have enough evidence," Edward said after the transfer of a regional police chief post here on Monday.

         Edward made the statement in response a plan to examine prosecutors who allegedly received fund transfers in return to their efforts to fabricate a corruption, money laundering and embezzlement case involving tax official suspect Gayus Tambunan.

         However, Edward said that police investigators and the independent team had not yet found any piece of evidence on the allegation that prosecutors handling Gayus case had received fund transfers for manipulating the case.

         President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono himself believed that there had been a clandestine deal and conspiracy between tax officers and taxpayers with regard to the Gayus case. Thereby, the president called for a thorough  investigation of the tax fraud case, saying anyone involved in it must be brought to justice.

         "I consider this a conspiracy case  (and therefore) I ask for it to be solved , (the persons involved) must be pursued to ensure clean governance and so that the state will not lose," he said.

    

(T.A014/A/HAJM/20:55/...    ) April 5, 2010

TAX-EVADERS ON TOP OF POLITICS

 by Andi Abdussalam

          Jakarta, Feb 10 (ANTARA) - The government is preparing the launching of a concerted drive to catch errant tax-payers in an initiative which also appears to be directed at the boss of the Golkar Party whose members in the House Century Inquiry Committee have been consistently critical of  alleged violations in the  Bank Century bailout process.

         The National Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) will soon sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the finance minister to deal with tax dodgers from whom the directorate general has targeted to collect Rp5.3 trillion in unpaid taxes this year.

         Three mining companies in  Golkar Party Chairman Aburizal Bakrie's business empire,  Bakrie Group, allegedly owe Rp2.1 trillion in unpaid taxes to the state, an amount which accounts for 40.93 percent of tax arrears the finance ministry's directorate general of taxes aims  to collect in 2010.

         To achieve the target,  the directorate general  is planning to conduct joint operations with the police to deal with those involved in tax cases, its chief,  Muhammad Tjiptadjo said.

         "We will cooperate with the national and regional police commands. We will conduct joint operations," Muhammad  said.

          With the cooperation with police, the directorate general of taxation would increase efforts to collect tax arrears. This year's target of Rp5.3 trillion is higher than that in 2009 accounting for Rp3.36 trillion and in 2008 valued at Rp2.52 trillion.

          According to Tjiptardjo, the total amount of outstanding tax receivables is about Rp51 trillion.

          Meanwhile, police have expressed readiness to assist. Police chief investigator Commissioner General Ito Sumardi said police were ready to investigate tax manipulation cases.

          "In carrying out their investigation, police will probe the audit results of the director general of tax affairs," the head of the Police Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) said.

          The crimes that the police are going to investigate included document forgery, fraud, false statements, embezzlement and money laundering.

         "If they don't pay taxes, they will be dealt with by the directorate general of tax affairs. But if they produced false documents in paying taxes, then they will be dealt with by police," Sumardi said.

         He said that in an effort to support the government in collecting unpaid taxes, police and the finance minister will soon sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU). "The MoU will help intensify legal efforts against tax dodgers," he said.

         Last month, legislator of the Democratic Party Sutan Bhatoegana who is also a member of the House Commission VII for mining affairs called on the government to settle alleged tax arrears owed to the state by three mining firms under the Bakrie Group worth Rp2.1 trillion.

          "Unpaid taxes by companies must be claimed soon because the money belongs to the people and state," he said.

           He made the remarks in response to allegations of tax arrears worth Rp2.1 trillion by three Bakrie Group mining companies, namely PT Bumi Resources, PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) and PT Arutmin Indonesia.

          Bumi Resources allegedly owes Rp376 billion in unpaid taxes to the state, KPC Rp1.5 trillion and Arutmin Rp300 billion.

          Bhatoegana said that the government should apply persuasive approaches in dealing with the unpaid taxes by the big mining firms. The alleged unpaid taxes must first be clarified to the companies concerned.

          "If dispensation is to be given to indebted firms, there would be no problem as long as it is not against the law," he said. If possible, the government allows the Bakrie Group to pay its tax arrears through an instalment scheme, if it is unable to pay in cash.

           He said the important thing was that the tax arrears should be paid.

           Senior Vice President, Investor Relations, of Bumi Resources Dileep Srivastava said his company was still waiting for clarifications from the directorate general of taxes with regard to the alleged unpaid taxes worth Rp2.1 trillion.

           Meanwhile, Golkar Party  Chairman Aburizal Bakrie said he was not a tax dodger with regard to the allegation that companies in  the Bakrie Group were among the biggest errant tax payers.

           "I am not a tax cheater, because the alleged errant tax payers are companies. After all, the companies have different interpretation with regard to the tax arrears with the directorate general of taxation," Aburizal Bakrie who is also a former chief minister for people's welfare affairs, said after installing regional executives of Golkar in Southeast Sulawesi.

           The Golkar chairman also explained that the Bakrie family was only a minority shareholder in companies under the Bakrie Group. In PT Bumi Resources, for example, the Bakrie family only owned seven percent of the shares while the remaining belonged to the public.

           He said that the different interpretation should first be settled in court. Thus, unpaid taxes could not be said tax arrears if the problem of differing interpretation has not yet been decided in courts.

          "In the directorate general announcement, tens of firms were alleged to be tax evaders, yet all of them denied it," he said.

           He said that if only one company which denied the allegation, possibly it was the company concerned which was wrong. But there were tens of companies, including state-owned firms (BUMNs).

           "Therefore, the best way to solve the alleged tax arrears is to take it to the court, not to the mass media," he said.

           On the occasion, besides refusing to be called a tax dodger, Aburizal also rejected a statement by certain quarters that there was a tax evader who was trying to politicize the Bank Century bailout case.

           "I am not orchestrating such a politicization. Such a statement should be proven so that it would not create a public lie. The Bank Century case is a genuine matter of people interest and has nothing to do with taxes," he said.    
      He said that all Golkar's legislators at the parliament were politicians which did not have the rights to lift the tax arrears issue as an instrument to mount a political pressure.

          President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday ordered the National Police to hunt down anyone suspected of tax evasion.

          According to the Jakarta Globe, Yudhoyono's order came after a senior presidential aide suggested that politicians pushing the investigation into the government's Rp6.7 trillion bailout were the same one who were allegedly guilty of tax evasion.

            

(T.A014/A/HAJM/A/S012)
18:40/.....  )
(T.A014/A/A014/A/S012) 10-02-2010