House committee fails to question former tax chief

A committee established by the House of Representative’s Commission III to investigate law and tax corruption had to cancel its scheduled hearing on Wednesday following the Finance Ministry’s refusal to allow former taxation director general Mochamad Tjiptardjo to attend based on bureaucratic concerns.

In a letter signed by Finance Ministry secretary-general Mulia P. Nasution and received by the committee prior to the hearing, the ministry said Commission III, which oversees law, needed first to seek approval of Commission XI overseeing banking and finance before summoning Tjiptardjo to its hearing.

“Considering that Commission XI is our official working partner, we are hoping Commission III will first coordinate with Commission XI before summoning Mochamad Tjiptardjo and the coordinator of civil servant investigators [PPNS] at the [directorate general of] taxation,” the letter says.

Committee head Tjatur Sapto Edy said he strongly regretted the refusal, and that the summonses had actually received the approval of House deputy speaker Anis Matta and had been forwarded to their colleagues in commission XI.

“We will summon [Tjiptardjo] again, to the upcoming hearing,” he said.