JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Repatriated assets from tax amnesty participants reaches Rp 145 trillion, well below the government’s target of Rp 1,000 trillion. The commitment realization as of March 17 is still at Rp 114.6 trillion. The repatriation commitment must be fulfilled before the amnesty program ends on March 31.
Tax directorate general’s director of counseling, service and public relations, Hestu Yoga Saksama, said in Jakarta on Saturday (25/3) that the tax office will evaluate the repatriation realization by referring to Law No. 11/2016 on the Tax Amnesty. Participants with a repatriation commitment in period III must repatriate their assets by March 31, 2017, at the latest.
Repatriated fund cannot leave Indonesia for three years upon repatriation into the country. Taxpayers or their appointed representatives must submit a report on the repatriation realization by April 30, 2017, at the latest. “We will carry out a comprehensive evaluation of repatriation after receiving a letter of report which must be submitted by April 30,” Yoga said.
Taxpayers that fail to meet the repatriation requirement will be given a letter of warning by the finance minister or an appointed official. Taxpayers must respond within 14 days of receiving the letter. If they fail to do so, the tax office will apply a sanction of counting the taxpayer’s declared asset value as their 2016 income which will be taxed and imposed with sanctions in accordance with tax regulations. The paid penalty or redemption payment, meanwhile, will be considered as a tax deduction.
Investment is key
Financial Services Authority (OJK) chairman Muliaman D Hadad said that, together with the appointed perception banks, the OJK will focus on monitoring the funds that have been sent into the country. Yanuar Rizky from consultant and research company Bejana Investidata Globalindo said that the tax amnesty cannot be an effective way to attract repatriation. “If the government wants to attract repatriation, it must offer interesting and easy investment,” Yanuar said.
Indonesia Employers Association chairman Hariyadi B Sukamdani said that since the start of the tax amnesty program, the association had warned that the target of Rp 1,000 trillion in repatriated fundswas too big. This is because there are a large amount of money belongingto Indonesian citizens that had already been repatriated to Indonesia before the tax amnesty program started, he added.
(LAS/AHA)
