Jakarta Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat said after a meeting at City Hall on Monday that the city administration would team up with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) to create a system that would force taxpayers to fulfil their outstanding tax obligations.

“Our outstanding tax revenue currently reaches up to Rp 5.4 trillion [US$405 million],” he said.

Djarot said the city, assisted by the two institutions, would reevaluate and integrate data on taxpayers.

In order to collect the taxes, he said, the administration should also intensify law enforcement by forming a team of confiscators. “The team will be assisted by the KPK to ensure that they will work honestly without any under-thetable transactions.”

(Read also: Electronic filing for annual tax forms revamped)

Djarot said the revenue collection was necessary so the administration could provide more subsidy schemes for the poor.

“How will we be able to pay for the KJP and KJS if not from tax money?” he said, referring to the Jakarta Smart Card educational fund and the city’s health insurance card, respectively.

At present, the administration waives property tax (PBB) for properties valued under Rp 1 billion and property transfer fees (BPHTB) for those under Rp 2 billion.

The administration is indeed targeting higher tax revenue this year, amounting to Rp 35.23 trillion. The figure is almost Rp 4 trillion more than last year’s realization of Rp 31.6 trillion.

Meanwhile, the city used to increase the target by only Rp 2 trillion each year.

(Read also: Tax office, professionals team up to disseminate new rule)

Jakarta Tax Agency head Edi Sumantri said to reach the target, his agency would inaugurate 60 new confiscators who would target taxpayers with more than Rp 1 billion outstanding.

Edi said his agency would no longer tolerate unpaid taxes. The agency is set to implement a new system that includes billboards being placed at properties until the owners pay taxes.

“We will confiscate their belongings until they pay their taxes,” he said.

He said the method, which is mandated in Law No. 19/2000 on tax billing with forced letters, would mark the first implementation since it was deliberated. “[Jakarta] will become a pilot project, so other regions can follow,” he said.

He said the first step to implement the new system was integrating data with related agencies, especially the One-Stop Integrated Services Agency (PTSP), which is tasked with issuing permits.

“If taxpayers still have outstanding bills, their permits cannot be issued,” he said, adding that he was optimistic the system would be ready for implementation in April.

Edi said the ADB would help the agency create a fiscal cadastre for more comprehensive data.

“We will create comprehensive data of tax for each property or business in Jakarta,” he said.

He added that the ADB would use drones and create maps containing detailed information about taxpayers’ properties. “If it is a restaurant, we will know the size of the building, the number of chairs,” he said.

Edi said most of the outstanding revenue was from PBB, which reached Rp 3.8 trillion in 2013, followed by hotel and restaurant taxes and vehicle tax.

“The outstanding [property] tax is now around Rp 2.5 trillion,” he said.

The agency chief said the administration would also cooperate with the police for raids on private vehicles. “As many as 3.2 million motorcycle owners and 600,000 car owners have not paid their taxes,” he said.

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