BPK says law amendment needed to avoid graft

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 02/06/2008 2:16 PM  |  Business

Supreme Audit Agency head Anwar Nasution said Tuesday an amendment was needed to the law on general rules and procedures of taxation in order to prevent corruption.

"Indonesia may be the only country where the Supreme Audit Agency is granted a limited authority to inspect the state revenue from taxes," Anwar said during a judicial review on the law at the Constitutional Court.

He was referring to an article in the law that says the agency needs written permission from the finance minister to obtain detailed information on the government's tax revenue.

He also criticized the latest amendment to the law's explanation, which forbids tax officials from disclosing any information provided by taxpayers.

"According to the 1945 Constitution, the Supreme Audit Agency is a state institution that has a constitutional right to audit state revenue collected by the Directorate General of Taxation at the Finance Ministry," Anwar told the court.

"Thus, both articles violate the agency's constitutional right to audit state revenue. Without direct access to tax information, the Supreme Audit Agency can not fully perform its duty," he added.

Anwar cited point a of Article 2 of the law on state financial affairs, saying tax revenue must be audited by the State Supreme Agency.

He also said that according to the law on the inspection of state financial accountability and management, the agency is allowed full access to all data, information and documents needed for inspecting the financial affairs of the government.

The agency's lawyer, Bambang Widjojanto, said the agency wanted to audit the taxation system and not scrutinize taxpayers, as feared by many including the government.

"Due to the magnitude of state revenue from taxes, the country's taxation system needs a good system of checks and balances. A mechanism is also needed to establish a more transparent and reliable state financial system," Bambang said.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said the Supreme Audit Agency's attempt to seek a review of the regulations should not be seen as a serious conflict between government institutions.

"It (asking for a judicial review with the Constitutional Court) is a very good example of how this country should settle any dispute or misunderstanding relating to state regulations," Mulyani said.

She asked the court panel for a two-week delay so the government could prepare its argument. (uwi)

Comments (0)  |   Post comment
A  |   A  |   A  |   Mail to a friend  |  Printer Friendly Version |  Digg it!  |  Add to Del.icio.us!  |  Add to Reddit!  |  Stumble it!

What's On

more
more
Not available.