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Thursday, June 07, 2007
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Tax Directorate General Oversees Indosat Tax Problem
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The Tax Directorate General has acknowledged that there has been a decrease in the tax deposits from PT Indosat Tbk.'s revenues during the last couple of years.
However, tax officials have not yet carried out an investigation as there are not any indications of tax manipulations by Indosat, in which Singapore Technologies (ST) Telemedia owns the majority shares.
“We've collected the dossiers but they are insufficient as there must be indications of (tax) manipulation,” said Darmin Nasution, Tax Director General, Jakarta yesterday (5/6).
Signals of the state's losses due to Indosat's tax income and dividend shortfalls amounting to around Rp323 billion were brought up by Dradjad H. Wibowo, a member of the House's Banking and Finance Commission.
According to him, the potential income tax losses are Rp196 billion, the potential loss of revenue from dividends Rp65 billion and the potential loss of income tax from dividends Rp62 billion.
The losses were due to Indosat's mismanagement in carrying out derivative transactions.
Darmin asked that Indosat's tax manipulation allegation not to be taken for granted as it must be proved first.
“It's really a loss or a manipulation. Those must be differed. If it's a loss, we (Tax Directorate Genera) can't do anything. But the Capital Market Supervisory Board (Bapepam) might,” he said.
Wong Heang Tuck, PT Indosat Tbk.'s Finance Director, stated he was ready to be checked by Bapepam regarding Indosat's loss and tax deposit potential loss due to derivative transactions.
However, he denied that the losses were because of mismanagement or foreign currency speculation activities.
“Moreover, derivative transactions are not against tax rules,” he said after the nnual General Shareholders' Meeting (AGM) in Jakarta yesterday.
According to him, Indosat's derivative transactions were included in the financial statement submitted to Bapepam and the United States Security and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Indosat will continue carrying out derivative transactions until the end of Indosat's Dollar bonds I and II issuing terms.
“Indosat has the obligation of hedging at least 50 percent of the total long-term debt obligation.”
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source
Labels: Internet News, Tax
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posted by ojack_djakarta
12:14 PM
 
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Tuesday, June 05, 2007
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Entrepreneurs Push for Fuel Oil Tax to be Abolished
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Industry players hope that the government is serious in responding the proposal to abolish the industry fuel oil value-added tax (VAT) of 10 percent per liter.
The proposal for the fuel oil tax abolition was in response to the possibility of fuel oil price hikes in line with the increase of the Mid Oil Platts Singapore (MOPS) rate.
“Fuel oil price hikes would clearly put pressure on the industry's position. Therefore, we need policy alternatives to help smoothen the industry's cash flow,” said Thomas Darmawan, Head of Food and Beverages Businesspeople Association Chairman, yesterday (3/6).
On June 1, 2007 Pertamina increased fuel prices.
Diesel is up five percent from the previous level of Rp5.522 per liter to Rp5.797 per liter.
Pertamina increased the price in accordance to the price standard in Singapore of between 2.9 and 12.0 percent compared to the previous period.
The abolition of industry fuel oil tax, said Thomas, would not lower the state's revenues.
The reason for this is that 10 percent VAT will be imposed on ready-goods products.
“With production being smoother, the amount of production goods and the government's VAT will also increase,” said Thomas.
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sourceLabels: Internet News, Tax
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posted by ojack_djakarta
9:45 AM
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Tuesday, May 29, 2007
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MoU Must be Reviewed, Indonesian Workers in Malaysia Suffering Losses
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A number of Indonesian migrant workers activists have asked the government to review the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Malaysia signed in Bali in 2006.
The agreement is regarded as being detrimental to Indonesian citizens working as migrant labors.
Miftah, Chairperson of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Association, said that under the MoU, employers were allowed to seize employees’ passports.
This was despite passports being individual identities which cannot be held by anybody except police and immigration officers.
“But the government easily gives permission that passport is submitted to employers or agents in Malaysia,” Miftah told Tempo yesterday (27/5).
The policy that allows employers to hold passports, said Miftah, actually triggered the large number of trafficking cases.
It is not surprising therefore that the rights of Indonesian workers in that country are often violated.
For example, torture, unpaid salary, prohibition to marry at work place and impediments to meet family members.
“All are human rights violations,” said Miftah.
Anis Hidayah, Executive Director of Migrant Care, questioned the deportation policy carried out by Malaysia.
According to Anis, a lot of Indonesian workers are to be deported due to the wrong recruitment system in Indonesia.
“Indonesia should have been able to struggle to remove the deportation option, and fight for legalization. The documents are legalized because the laborers there actually already have jobs.”
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source
Labels: Indonesia, Tax
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posted by ojack_djakarta
10:01 AM
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Friday, May 18, 2007
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Some State Officials Do Not Pay Tax
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The Tax Directorate General revealed several names of state officials who have not paid tax or submitted the Yearly Information (SPT) of Tax. “They also don't have a personal tax number (NPWP),” Tax Director General Darmin Nasution told reporters in Jakarta, yesterday (14/5).
Although he has pocketed the names, he refused to explain the identities of state officials who did not pay tax. He was also reluctant to give the details of institutions or departments of the officials who did not report their tax obligation by the Tax SPT because he will first report the cases to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Regarding the names of civil officials of echelon IV up to I who neither have NPWP nor submitted Tax SPT, they will be reported to the respective ministry or state institutions. “This is a part of tax intensification to optimize the state revenue,” he said.
A House member, Andi Rahmat, said that the signals of state officials not paying tax have already been there a long time and this could happen. However, there is a possibility that the officials did not intend to break the law or avoid the obligation to pay tax.
The State officials generally have NPWPs. The problem is, he said, they are not accustomd to filling out Tax SPT. “Perhaps many ministers don't know how to fill out Tax SPT,” he said while mentioning that he already filled out his Tax SPT.
Therefore, he said that the Tax Directorate General must intensify the campaign of self assessment of tax much more. “Everybody must have an NPWP, especially those whose income exceeds the income that is tax-free,” he said.
He was sorry that Indonesia does not have a solid system yet like European countries which already implemented NPWP ownership. “In Europe, even people who want to make a call must show his or her NPWP, so they comply with the tax system,” he said.
He still supports the publication of the tax embezzlers. “The Tax Directorate General's findings must be revealed soon so that people feel the obligation to pay tax.”
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source
Labels: Internet News, Money, Tax
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posted by ojack_djakarta
8:18 AM
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Tax Officials to Hunt Down Sukanto Tanoto
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The Tax Directorate General at the Finance Department will concentrate on hunting down the main players in the Asian Agri Group tax embezzlement case, including the company's owner Sukanto Tanoto and the other shareholders.
Mochamad Tjiptardjo, Director of Tax Intelligence and Investigation at the Finance Department's Tax Directorate General, did not deny the possibility that the Asian Agri's owner could be legally charged.
”If there is proof, then why not? This is already classified as a criminal case,” said Tjiptardjo in Jakarta yesterday (15/5).
“The numbers of the suspects and the amount of the state's losses may increase,” he said
When asked the same question, whether or not the Tax Directorate General would also hunt down Sukanto Tanoto, on a separate occasion, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said, “We'll see how the Tax Directorate General handles the case. But clearly, the government will chase after payment of all the tax debts plus the fines.”
On Monday (14/5), the Tax Directorate General already stated that five Asian Agri Group directors were suspects of tax embezzlement. The five persons' initials are LA, WT, ST, TNK and AN.
Asian Agri is the second biggest holding company in the Grup Raja Garuda Mas – a company owned by Sukanto Tanoto, Indonesia's richest person in 2006 according to Forbes magazine.
According to Tjiptardjo, 18 members of the Tax Directorate General investigation team are working domestically and abroad to search for new findings in the case.
The legal base being used to charge the embezzlers, including those who asked for the manipulation to be carried out, he said, was Decree No. 16/2000 on Tax General Provisions and Procedures.
So far, according to him, the case development was only as far as the involvement of the five Asian Agri directors.
Signs regard new suspects have not yet been reached at this level of the investigation.
It is so far estimated that the state's losses amount to Rp786.3 billion, or around 30 percent from the total funds marked-up by the company which reached Rp2.62 trillion, but this amount could rise.
According to M. Salim, Director of the Attorney General's Office Investigators, the AGO is still analyzing public complaints about Asian Agri’s alleged corruption and tax embezzlement practices.
“We just received the reports last week,” said Salim.
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source
Labels: Internet News, Tax
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posted by ojack_djakarta
8:16 AM
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Friday, May 11, 2007
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11 Japan Loan Bank Projects Delayed
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The National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) has discovered that the realization of 11 infrastructure projects funded with loans from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation has been delayed.
“The delayed projects belong to the Public Works Department, the Transportation Department, Cipta Karya and Bina Marga,” Benedictus Benny Setiawan, Director of Development Funding Monitoring and Evaluation told Tempo at his office, Jakarta, yesterday (9/5).
Benny explained that the projects were delayed because of land acquisition and project procurement.
Four projects were delayed because of land acquisition problem, Batanghari Irrigation; North Java Corridor Flyover, Tanjung Priok Access Road and Double Double-Track.
The projects which were delayed by procurement are Lower Solo River Improvement, Komering Irrigation Project, PTSL for Water Resources Development and the Railway Electrification and Double Double-Track.
The projects' procurement was hampered due to land acquisition.
The Dumai Port project was delayed by the Indonesian Military (TNI) Navy’s quay demolition.
The problem was settled in the end of 2006, but the process must be accelerated because it is likely to not to be completed on schedule.
The Maritime Education and Training Improvement project is also not in accordance with schedule due to design alterations.
The constraints resulted in the absorption of loans being low.
Benny said that not all of the loans from the Japan Bank were absorbed.
The US$5.95 billion in loans from the Japan Bank is equivalent to 40.8 percent of the total foreign loans for infrastructure projects.
Funds from Japan Bank are allocated for 51 projects.
The delay in projects and fund absorption did not make the government pay commitment fee to Japan Bank.
However, infrastructure facilities cannot be enjoyed soon by the general public and economic costs have occurred.
“Roads were ruined due to high transportation cost,s so goods' prices are also high,” said Benny.
__________
tempo
Labels: Bank, Internet News, Loan, Money, Tax
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posted by ojack_djakarta
1:46 PM
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Tuesday, May 08, 2007
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BI to Maintain Rupiah's Volatility at Two Percent
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Bank Indonesia (BI) will maintain the volatility level of the Rupiah's exchange rate against the United States Dollar at two percent.
According to Burhanuddin Abdullah, BI Governor, the two percent volatility level is still safe.
“It's still stable,” he said in Jakarta last week.
The central bank, said Burhanuddin, will continue maintaining and monitoring the Rupiah's volatility at an appropriate level.
“If it's strengthens, then it strengthens. And vice versa,” he said.
Last week, the Rupiah managed to break through the level of below Rp9,000 per US Dollar, but was still moving at a level of between Rp8,972 and Rp9,080 against the US Dollar.
According to Burhanuddin, the Rupiah's exchange rate still moved at a level appropriate with the central bank's estimation.
He is also optimistic that the current Rupiah exchange rate is still safe for entrepreneurs.
“This level is still good for exports and imports,” said Burhanuddin.
__________
tempo
Labels: Internet News, Money, Tax
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posted by ojack_djakarta
8:15 AM
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Thursday, April 26, 2007
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Communication Minister Defends Print Media
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Sofyan Djalil, the Communication and Information Minister, has promised to fight for the annulment of the Tax Directorate General Regulation on Other Services and Net Revenue Assumptions. This regulation compels the mass media to pay income tax. “I ask for input from newspaper publishers as the basis for tax exemption for print media,” said Sofyan at the Information and Communication Department building, Jakarta, yesterday (24/4). He asked the Newspaper Publishers Union to submit the data and analysis on the newspaper industry and for this to be handed to the Finance Minister. Earlier, the Newspaper Publishers Union rejected that print media pay income tax, as stated in the Tax Directorate General Regulation No. PER-70/PJ/2007 on Other Services and Net Revenue Assumptions. The reason for this is that these tax impositions would greatly burden the media industry’s financial condition. In Attachment II of the Tax Directorate General Regulation, it is stated that media including services are imposed by 15 percent income tax of their net revenue. Media industry members, under the regulation, are assumed to be certain of acquiring 10 percent of net revenues. In reality, this is not the case because there are still other costs that media industry bears in production. Asmono Wikan, Director Executive of the Newspaper Publishers Union, promised to send the data and analysis on the newspaper production condition as asked by Sofyan. His institution will also meet the Tax Directorate General this Friday to convey the objection letter on tax imposition for media.
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Tempo
Labels: Internet News, Politics, Tax
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posted by ojack_djakarta
8:08 AM
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