Jakarta. After targeting the mining industry and doctors, the Directorate General of Taxation at Ministry of Finance began targeting professionals in the financial industry, particularly in the banking sector to participate in a tax amnesty.
This policy was taken as the tax authority found that out of 1,221 taxpayers (WP) who are commissioners of banks, only 19% of them have joined tax amnesty. Meanwhile, out of 2,352 taxpayers, who work as bank directors, only 12% of them have participated. Tax authority also recorded that only 19% of 5,378 taxpayers, who are registered as banks’ shareholders have participated in tax amnesty.
The lack of participation of the bankers in tax amnesty has led to the low contributions of the group to the redemption fees. To date, redemption fees from the group of banks’ commissioners only amounted to IDR194.3 billion, while the banks’ shareholders contributed to IDR3.26 trillion of redemption fees.
Not only bankers, tax authority also found that lack of participation of People’s Credit Banks (BPR) in tax amnesty. To date, tax authority just booked the participations of 110 out of 1,801 BPRs in tax amnesty.
The participations only yielded an IDR849 million of redemption fees. Meanwhile, tax authority recorded the participation of 11 out of 118 non-BPRs in tax amnesty.
Minister of Finance threatens
Based on the data, Directorate General of Taxation concluded that the potential participations of the bankers in tax amnesty remain high. Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that the participations of the established professional groups in tax amnesty are still low.
Therefore, the government will continue to boost their participations in tax amnesty. “We will continue to socialize”, Sri Mulyani said, Wednesday (9/11).
To pursue these professionals, the Minister said that the tax authority will also remind that after the tax amnesty is completed, there will be law enforcement that has consequences for the taxpayers.
"Later we will use data from various sources, data from the annual notification letter (SPT) that have been submitted and the data held by the Directorate General of Taxation, in terms of sectoral, economic, and other activities," she threatened.
She even has asked the 241 top management of banks to not only inform their customers and employees to participate in a tax amnesty, but also have to participate in the program.
Chairman of Commissioners Board of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) Muliaman D. Hadad admitted, he just has known that the participation of bankers in tax amnesty is still low. Therefore, he will push them to participate in the program. “We keep encouraging them”, he said.
(MUHAMMAD FARID/Translator)
