Bojonegoro (beritajatim.com) – Indonesian researcher for Global Justice (IGJ), Rachmi Hertanti, revealed that the government’s plan to issue a National Amnesty Bill which will provide forgiveness for corporate/corporate taxpayers including mining companies is very unfair if they are given a pardon. Tuesday (20/10/2015).
“The government’s discourse to provide tax amnesty and other financial crimes for mining companies is that it will further perpetuate the human rights violations of mining corporations in Indonesia,” he said in a release received by beritajatim.com.
According to him, acts of tax evasion, illegal financial transactions by mining companies will further add to the long list of crimes that have committed environmental destruction and violence against anti-mining and human rights activists. “So the tax amnesty is not the right solution,” he added.
The Executive Director of the Center for Indonesia Taxation (CITA), Executive Director of the Center for Indonesia Taxation (CITA) also expressed the rejection of the planned implementation of the Bill on Amnesty. According to him, tax amnesty is not the best solution at this time to improve tax revenue and attract assets of Indonesian citizens abroad. He said that the government should have focused more on the aspect of law enforcement by taking firm action against mining companies that do not have an NPWP and not paying taxes.
“This can boost state revenue. In addition, improvements to regulations, tax administration systems and institutions must be carried out immediately. The government should just focus on these four aspects,” he explained.
While it is known that there is an increase in illegal money flows, especially in the mining sector from Indonesia to abroad, has increased. The time period from 2003 to 2014 reached 102.43 percent or an annual average increase of 8.53 percent. In 2003, the total illegal flow of money in the mining sector was estimated to have reached Rp. 11.80 trillion, while in 2014 it rose to Rp. 23.89 trillion.
“Especially for the mining sector (oil and gas, minerals and coal), the increase in illegal money flows is fantastic,” said Indonesian Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Economic Policy Researcher, Wiko Saputra.
Meanwhile, in 2003, the total flow of illegal money from Indonesia to abroad was estimated to have reached Rp. 141.82 trillion increased to Rp. 227.75 trillion in 2014. Indonesia is among the five countries with the largest amount of illegal money flows in the world after China, Russia, India, and Malaysia. [uuk]
In relation to the discourse of tax amnesty, the Fair Tax Forum (FPB) will conduct the following decisions:
1. Reject the National Amnesty Bill as it does not reflect justice and shows that the government has given up on tax and financial crimes committed by companies.
2. Requesting the government to take firm action against companies that do not comply with tax payments, companies that do not have an NPWP, and do not report their tax returns.
3. The government needs to establish an Anti-Illegal Money Flow Task Force.
Source: here.