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Jokowi puts on tax amnesty suit to appeal to Bali businesspeople
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (second left) meets and greets businesspeople at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center in Bali on Dec. 7 during his tax amnesty campaign tour. (Antara/Wira Suryantala)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said there will be no repeat of the tax amnesty, therefore taxpayers must use this one-time opportunity now.
The President was on his tax amnesty campaign tour in Bali, the third province visited after he had toured South Sulawesi and East Kalimantan.
In front of some 2,000 businessmen in Bali and Nusa Tenggara in the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center, Jokowi said the amnesty would be the last before the era of financial openness would start in 2018.
Read also: Jokowi to 2,000 mining businesspeople: Evade tax? We'll catch you
Jokowi said he found it necessary to directly address businesspeople to join the amnesty because of its low participation rate thus far. The repatriated funds declared have reached Rp 3.98 trillion (US$298.9 billion) with the redemption total at Rp 143 trillion.
“That’s why I myself am meeting you here in person to raise awareness how important the money is for the country. That’s why I have come here, wearing a suit above all else,” he said. “I wear a white shirt when I visit kampung or villages. But the tax amnesty is special, so I wear a suit, to appeal to all [eligible] to participate,” the President said as quoted by kompas.com.
“In total we have 20 million taxpayers, but only 480,000 have applied for tax amnesty. Only 2.5 percent. Only 2.5 percent. That’s very small. Imagine, if half of the taxpayers participated in the tax amnesty, we don’t have to borrow foreign funds, we don’t have to beg for [foreign] investment,” he said. (evi)
