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National scene: Tax amnesty bill included in 2015 Prolegnas
JAKARTA: The House of Representativesâ legislative council (Baleg) has decided to include a tax amnesty bill in the 2015 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas), despite the limited time lawmakers will have to deliberate on the bill
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AKARTA: The House of Representatives' legislative council (Baleg) has decided to include a tax amnesty bill in the 2015 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas), despite the limited time lawmakers will have to deliberate on the bill.
During a meeting on Thursday, Baleg members agreed to deliberate on the bill over the next few weeks under the condition that the government agreed to a tax pardon scheme and that there was a clear commitment from the government to deliberate on the bill in close coordination with the House.
Baleg member Arsul Sani of the United Development Party (PPP) said that all political factions had agreed to include the bill in this year's legislation program even though the final decision would only be made during a meeting with the Finance Ministry.
Arsul said the House had taken the initiative to propose the bill in an attempt to help the government secure financial resources to compensate for its failure to collect a targeted Rp 220 trillion (US$15 billion) from registered taxpayers this year.
'We've taken the initiative to keep the momentum going because only a few days remain in this calendar year and we still face a 65 percent shortfall in tax revenues,' he added.
'The government can barely pay for salaries, let alone proceed with development projects,' he said.
In its current iteration, the bill opens up the possibility for tax evaders to be granted immunity from prosecution as long as none of their unreported assets overseas are presently subject to criminal investigation.
According to a copy of the draft bill, there are special provisions on some controversial schemes including a tax pardon, the annulment of administrative sanctions such as interest and exemption from tax collection.
Through the tax amnesty mechanism, the government is hoping to coax tax evaders and money launderers to bring home assets currently parked abroad, including about Rp 4 quadrillion in Singapore alone, in exchange for clearing them of legal tax charges. In this way, the government hopes to get a 10 to 15 percent slice of repatriated assets to help build the economy.
