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When love arises amid under-performing tax collection
Taxation director general Ken Dwijugiasteadi had to answer a question he claimed he had never received before during a press briefing at his office in Jakarta on Friday.
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Ken Dwijugiasteadi (right) takes the oath of office as the new taxation director general in Jakarta on March 1. (Antara/Ahmad S.)
Taxation director general Ken Dwijugiasteadi had to answer a question he claimed he had never received before during a press briefing at his office in Jakarta on Friday.
A journalist from a local media outlet threw a question about his feeling amid the hustle-bustle surrounding taxation in the country lately.
"Is it wrong if I love the DJP [Taxation Directorate General] too much?" he asked to the delight of journalists and his officials.
He went on to say, in a more serious manner, that he would do anything for his office. "People can attack me personally and that is fine. But if [they attack] the DJP, I will stand for it," he said.
Ken was sworn into his position in December last year after his predecessor, Sigit Priadi Pramudito, resigned over the government's failure to meet its tax revenue target.
Ken, who was the tax office's regulation and law enforcement expert before assuming his current position, faces a similar challenge to Sigit. He has seven months left to fill the gap of 70 percent on the 2016 tax revenue target.
Data from the Finance Ministry's treasury directorate general show that Rp 364.1 trillion (US$27.4 billion) in taxes was collected as of May, only 26.8 percent of this year's target of Rp 1.36 quadrillion. (ags)
