NU SAYS CORRUPT COUNTRY DESERVES NO TAXES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 17 (ANTARA) - One can imagine what will happen if people do not pay taxes in a country such as Indonesia, in which a majority of development projects are funded by taxes.          Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which has reportedly more than 30 million members, has raised questions on the people's obligation to pay taxes, on grounds that corrupt officials siphon off the revenue.          "If the government fails to tackle corruption seriously and does not manage taxes well, we will call for a moratorium on tax payment, at least for NU members," NU General Chairman Said Aqil Siroj said during the National Meeting of Ulamas and NU Congress at Kempek Boarding School in Cirebon, West Java, on Sunday.          Earlier in Jakarta, he stated that people should stop paying taxes temporarily until the government proved its commitment to managing taxes for the welfare of the people.          "Based on religious regulations, paying taxes is not an obligation. It is different from paying 'zakat' (alms). There is no obligation for Muslims to pay tax. They only have the obligation to pay zakat," said Said Aquil, who has a doctorate from the Ummul Qura University of Mecca.          He noted that tax payment was only part of the obligation to abide by the government regulations. "But the problem is that the taxes are siphoned off by corrupt officials. So, do we still have the obligation to pay taxes?" Said Aquil asked.          "Therefore, this is a strong warning for the government to seriously and comprehensively improve its tax management system so that taxes are not stolen away," he added.          Said Aquil said NU demanded that taxes collected from the people be managed with full commitment to the welfare of the people, corruption at tax agencies be eliminated, and tax thieves be taken to court and given harsh punishment.          If the government took the necessary steps, he added, NU would support its regulations and call on NU members to pay taxes.          General Chairman of NU Scholars Association (ISNU) Ali Masykur Musa stated that the discussion among NU members on whether to continue paying taxes should be construed by the government as a warning from the biggest Muslim organization.         Indonesia is a Muslim-majority country, because Muslims account for 90 percent of the nation's total population of about 240 million.          "This should be viewed as NU's commitment to the country," Ali Masykur said on the sidelines of the congress.          He noted that taxes were the biggest source of revenue for the state, accounting for about 70 percent of the total state budget. "If the 2013 draft state budget is set at Rp1,540 trillion, some Rp1,200 trillion will come from taxes.          Therefore, NU warns the government and tax officials against playing around with taxes," Ali Masykur added.          The Deputy Secretary General of NU Women organization, Zannuba Arifah Chafsoh, also urged the government to improve its tax management system.  "This is a serious warning. The government should introspect," said Zannuba, the daughter of former president Abdurrahmah Wahid.          Meanwhile, Coordinator of the Clean Indonesian Movement (GIB) Adhie Massardi explained that the NU's threat to stop paying taxes was in line with the response of middle-ranked NU ulamas (Muslim scholars) to increasing corruption in the government.          According to Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2011, Indonesia ranked 100 out of 183 countries in the world, with a score of 3.0. The score increased by 0.2, compared with previous year's 2.8. In 2010, Indonesia was ranked 110 out of 178 countries. In 2009, it ranked 111th out of 180 nations.          "I think there is discontent among our friends in NU who reckon that people in the upper ranks, or leaders of the Central Board of NU, are too close to the people in power. And because of that such people are unable to criticize the government for the poor socio-political and economic conditions in the country," said Adhie, who is also former presidential spokesman of former president Wahid.          He stated that officials in the executive, legislative and judiciary branches of the state seemed to be carried away by the rising wave of corruption.          "The way of our friends in NU plan to offer resistance to a corrupt regime is reflected in our slogan, 'boycott paying taxes', as most of taxes could be seen misused," Adhie stated.         "Behind the boycott slogan is the spirit of civil resistance, such as ones waged by Mahatma Gandhi in India against the British government," he said.          "Unfortunately, the spirit of resistance to the corrupt regime was present only within the middle ranks of NU, not within its upper leaders. So, the call for boycott seemed half-hearted," Adhie noted.          "Therefore, government officials have also been invited to the meeting and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to close the event," he explained.       "So, it is not too hard to guess that the spirit of resistance will immediately die after the event is over," the former presidential spokesman added.          With regard to the management of taxes in the country, legislator Nusron Wahid pointed out that tax reforms had been put in place but the desired results were not achieved.         "The government has carried out tax reforms. But there is no point if the results are not achieved," said Nusron, who is also the deputy chairman of the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission XI on financial affairs, in Cirebon.          "Tax reforms have helped raise the ratio of tax receipts against the gross domestic product, from 11 percent to 12 percent. The government is taking actions against tax evaders," he stated.          Therefore, the legislator expressed concerns over NU's call to boycott taxes.          "If people do not pay tax, the government would have no funds to finance education or infrastructure development," noted Nusron, who is also the general chairman of the Anshor Movement, a youth organization of NU.          "I hope this is just a warning to the government so that it steps up its efforts to eliminate corruption," the Golkar Party member said.         Nusran¿s colleague Bachruddin Nashori, from the House Commission III on legal affairs, agreed with him, saying that the NU only intended to warn the government.         "I am convinced the NU Executive Board will not issue a religious advice or fatwa that state taxes should not be paid. I agree that the move is a call for the government to manage taxes well," Bachrudin added.***1*** (T.A014/INE/f001) (T.A014/A/KR-BSR/F001) 17-09-2012 16:29