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
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar