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Pertamina owes state big time in unpaid tax: ICW
Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has revealed its latest finding that state-owned oil company PT Pertamina failed to pay taxes between 2006 and 2007 amounting to as much as Rp 31
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Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has revealed its latest finding that state-owned oil company PT Pertamina failed to pay taxes between 2006 and 2007 amounting to as much as Rp 31.95 trillion (US$2.9 billion).
Pertamina has denied any wrongdoing.
Firdaus Ilyas, head of ICW's data and analysis division, said during a presentation Tuesday that, between 2007 and 2007, Pertamina had not paid the state receivables from value-added tax on subsidized fuels to the tune of Rp 15.98 trillion.
At the same time, Firdaus said, according to the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), the company had received subsidies for government-granted value-added tax of the same amount: Rp 15.98 trillion.
This brought the total loss of state funds to Rp 31.95 trillion: "It was a double budget," he added.
The organization based its research on a report from the BPK on the central government's 2006-2007 financial report and the 2008 state budget.
In response to the claim, Pertamina corporate secretary Anang Wuryanto said they had not seen the ICW report and that they had paid all their dues according to existing regulations.
"I think the reality was not as the report said. Most probably it was a miscalculation," Anang said.
Firdaus' response was, "If Pertamina said that they have paid their dues, what they have to do is just show the public the documents that could prove it.
"The last time we disclosed a finding on Pertamina's tax payments, in November, what they did was contradict our report without any documentation, from the tax office for instance."
He said that ICW had a letter from the directorate general stating that Pertamina had failed to pay its dues. "We are willing to face the directorate general of tax and the BPK."
ICW also claimed the government had set too high a price for Premium gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) under the existing price-setting formula.
The price-setting method for Premium gasoline used a MOPS plus alpha formula -- MOPS or Mean Oil Platts Singapore is the average monthly price of oil transactions in Singapore, and alpha is the margin of distribution and profit.
The alpha is a percentage, which this year went to 9 percent of the price, Firdaus said.
The organization found that, using that formula, the price of Premium gasoline in the United States -- excluding taxes -- was lower than that in Indonesia.
On Dec. 8, a liter of gasoline 92-UN in the United States was $0.476, or Rp 5,239. Without tax, the retail price was Rp 3,821.
Firdaus drew a comparison with the present retail price of Premium gasoline in Indonesia of Rp 5,000; with 9 percent alpha, the net price is around Rp 4,600. (iwp)
