Jakarta, April 23 (Antara) - The government hopes that the House of Representatives (DPR) will wrap up deliberations in May of the tax amnesty bill which has been in parliament since it was submitted by the government last year.
The DPR should keep its promise to finish deliberating on the tax amnesty bill by the end of May 2016, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said. The debate on the bill was previously expected to be wrapped up by parliament last January.
It would be impossible to finish the debates during this current sitting period of the parliamentary session which will end on April 29, Chairman of the Commission XI on financial affairs of the DPR, Ahmadi Noor Supit said.
"I think we could rush to finish it before the draft revision of the state budget (APBNP) is passed into law. Hopefully we could do it end of May," Supit said after a meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla in Jakarta Wednesday (April 20).
The government needs to introduce a tax amnesty law in an effort to withdraw or repatriate big funds or assets stacked overseas. The repatriation of funds so far stashed abroad will increase the number of new taxpayers and raise the state revenues from tax receipts.
"The government hopes that the debate on the bill would be finished soon. It agrees with the DPR that it should be wrapped up before the submission of the draft revision of the state budget because the APBNP is expected to contain the arrangement on income from tax amnesty. If it is not regulated in a law, receipts from tax amnesty sources would not be realized," Jusuf Kalla noted in Jakarta Wednesday.
The Vice President also hoped that debates among lawmakers who are for and against the tax amnesty bill would run smoothly and professionally within the framework of democratic values.
"Of course they should deliberate it professionally and democratically. They should deliberate it based on the procedures of the existing regulations and benefit principles. Then they can decide to produce a law on the tax amnesty," Kalla said.
House Speaker Ade Komarudin and Commission XI Chairman Ahmad Noor Supit met with the Vice President at the Vice Presidential Office Wednesday.
Ade Komarudin hoped the debate on the bill could be wrapped up before the revised draft of the state budget is passed into law. "We have discussed the issue with the Vice President, and we agreed on the schedule before the draft revision of the state budget was passed into law," he said, while stressing its importance for the nation.
The lawmakers were split over whether to approve or to reject the bill. The controversy is also sharp in the public mind with the labor union threatening to stage a massive demonstration on Labor Day, May 1, if the government continues to push for approval of the bill.
Parliament would invite a number of academicians, business leaders, and economists to discuss and study the bill, Komarudin said. "We will prioritize understanding of the Commission IX lawmakers, and therefore, we will invite economic players, Kadin and other business organizations such as Hipmi (Young Entrepreneurs Association) and Apindo (Indonesian Employers Association), as well as experts known to be in favor of and against the bill," he said.
The House Speaker said there have been already 16 experts contributing opinions about the bill over the past three days.
The commission would also visit a number of tertiary educational institutions to discuss the tax amnesty bill, he said.
"We would also invite the PPATK (Financial Analysis and Reporting Center), KPK (the Corruption Eradication Commission), the police and the attorney general, so that everything is clear," he said.
Earlier in April, the government asked the House to begin deliberating on the tax amnesty bill but the House decided to put off debate only saying that there are things for which they need to consult with the government.
The DPR said Wednesday (April 6) it had postponed the deliberations of the bill with regard to the leak of the Panama Papers.
The House Consultative Body (Bamus) had decided to put off the debate on the tax amnesty bill pending a consultation with the government, Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon said. The House wanted to know the roadmap of the government related to tax amnesty especially related to the revelations in the 'Panama Papers,'" he said.
"In the meeting a while ago, Bamus decided to wait until we have consultations with the government," Fadli said after the meeting. He referred to the millions of documents of a law firm Mossack Fonseca of Panama on financial scandals leaked to the public.
The scandals involved 140 politicians including 12 state leaders, celebrities and sport starts. A number of Indonesian business leaders and retired officials are mentioned in the documents.
However, in its meeting on Monday (April 11), the Bamus decided to continue deliberating the tax amnesty bill without the need to have a consultation meeting. "The DPR has decided it. We ordered Commission XI to deliberate it with the minister assigned by the President," House Speaker Ade Komarudin said.
About 79 percent of the names of Indonesian citizens that figured in the Panama Papers matched the data of the Indonesian Directorate General of Taxation.
"We found that some 79 percent of the names of Indonesians on the Panama list are the same as the names in the directorate general's taxation data. They are believed to have accounts overseas. This year, we will enforce the law. This is in line with the directorate general's program which set this year as the year of law enforcement," Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said during a working meeting with Commission XI of the DPR in Jakarta on April 11. ***2***(A014/INE)EDITED BY INE(T.A014/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 23-04-2016 16:07:1 |
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar