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Indonesians skeptical about transparency of taxation system: Survey
The survey by Tempo Media Group and the Center for Indonesia Taxation Analysis (CITA) revealed that only 50 percent of Indonesians believe the country’s taxation system is transparent and that the funds are used for the country’s development.
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A taxpayer visits the Tanah Abang Tiga tax office in Jakarta on Jan. 5, 2018. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
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s the government seeks to ramp up its tax collection efforts this year, half of all Indonesians doubt the government manages their taxes transparently, a recent survey shows.
The survey by Tempo Media Group and the Center for Indonesia Taxation Analysis (CITA) revealed that only 50 percent of Indonesians believed the country’s taxation system was transparent and that the funds were used for the country’s development.
The survey of 1,142 people, including 942 individual taxpayers and 213 institutional taxpayers, also found that 90 percent of Indonesians considered paying taxes to be a “moral obligation” and a way to “help the government”.
“The government needs to address the low level of public trust by ensuring the taxation system is transparent, as people want to know how their money is spent,” said Center for Indonesia Taxation Analysis executive director Yustinus Prastowo during an event for the survey’s publication in Jakarta on Friday.
In the survey, 50 percent of respondents said the taxation system lacked transparency, he added.
“The taxation system is deeply related to democracy and transparency. Around 75 percent of respondents said they would pay taxes if [the country’s democracy] worked and [more than] 80 percent would pay tax if the taxation [system] was transparent,” Yustinus said.
To encourage more people to pay taxes, the Taxation Directorate General also needed to conduct effective tax audits, simplify administrative processes and improve tax payment services, he added.
