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Ministry cracks down on tax office excess
Sri Mulyani suggests civil servants ‘go jogging’, ‘eat rice porridge’ rather than drive luxury vehicles.
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he government is clamping down on the lavish lifestyles of some tax officials amid concerns that a recent scandal centering on the suspicious wealth of a Jakarta tax official could spiral into a widespread anti-tax movement.
The increased scrutiny on tax officials comes after Mario Dandy Satrio, son of tax official Rafael Alun Trisambodo, was arrested last week after allegedly assaulting a minor. Photos and videos of Mario’s extravagant lifestyle, and his father’s Rp 56 billion (US$3.6 million) in reported wealth, came to light in the following days, raising questions about where the money had come from.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which investigated Rafael from 2015 to 2018, has launched another probe into his wealth. For his part, Rafael has said he will cooperate with any investigation and, on Wednesday morning, answered the KPK’s summons to clarify his wealth report.
Public outrage
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani relieved Rafael of his official duties last week, but this has not quelled public outrage at the Taxation Directorate General. The hashtag #PajakKitaUntukPejabat (our taxes go to officials) surfaced last week on Twitter, and the finance minister has implored the public not to boycott their tax obligations this year as criticism continues to mount.
“Our post-pandemic economic recovery and the infrastructure we built using the state budget all came from taxes,” said Sri Mulyani.
The scandal comes as the country enters the annual tax season, with millions of taxpayers preparing to file their annual tax returns before the March 31 deadline. The government has projected a 15.7 percent annual increase in tax revenue to Rp 1.7 quadrillion this year, up from Rp 1.4 quadrillion last year.
As the Rafael scandal reverberates further, members of the public have set their sights on the conspicuous lifestyles of other officials at the Finance Ministry. An Instagram account belonging to Yogyakarta customs official Eko Darmanto showing off his hobbies of riding cruiser motorcycles and flying a Cessna plane, became the talk of social media as another hashtag #BeaCukaiHedon (hedonistic customs officials) emerged on Twitter.
‘Be more sensitive’
The finance minister has been waging a public relations campaign to contain the damage caused by the Rafael scandal.
On Monday, Sri Mulyani ordered the dissolution of a big bikes club called Belasting Rijder, which counts taxation director general Suryo Utomo among its members. A social media post purportedly showing Suryo riding a big motorbike made the rounds on the internet over the weekend.
"I want this club dissolved. This hobby and lifestyle of riding big bikes can create a negative perception among the public, who could grow suspicious about how tax officials get their wealth," Sri Mulyani said in a statement posted on her Instagram account on Monday.
The minister posted the message next to a media clipping showing Suryo smiling and riding a big bike with members of his entourage.
She called on tax officials to shun ostentatious displays of wealth, as they could lead to an erosion of public trust in the tax office.
Speaking at a seminar on Tuesday, Sri Mulyani said that if tax officials wanted to blow off steam, they should opt for jogging rather than riding big bikes.
"Rather than buying a Rp 150 million motorbike, you can just go jogging around Senayan [sports complex]. That's healthy. Eating rice porridge, that's also healthy," she said.
At a briefing attended by employees of the tax office on Tuesday, she implored tax officials to be mindful of how they used social media.
“These aren’t normal times, so please be more sensitive and have some empathy for the public. [...] Even if it’s your husband, wife or children, try to maintain your decency [on social media],” she said.
‘Not corruption’
While criticizing some officials’ displays of wealth, Sri Mulyani defended her 78,000 staff, saying they had been mostly transparent.
“I’ve asked Pak Suryo about the source of his wealth, and he replied it was because of rising property prices and the recovering market. So please don’t automatically assume it’s because of corruption,” she said.
Since 2017, officials at the ministry had maintained nearly 100 percent compliance with wealth reporting requirements, Sri Mulyani claimed.
She said most tax officials, who worked hard and lead modest lives, felt betrayed by the actions of certain officials.
“As the leader of the Finance Ministry, I have to defend those who have worked hard, and I am certain that there are many of them within [the ministry].”
That said, the ministry announced on Wednesday that it would investigate at least 69 employees who had “unclear” sources of wealth.
The findings were based on a preliminary analysis of officials’ wealth reports for 2019 and 2022.
‘Reactive, partial, rhetorical’
Gitadi Tegas Supramudyo, a public policy expert at Airlangga University in Surabaya, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that the Rafael case was just the tip of the iceberg, as many civil servants either failed to report their wealth or lied about it.
"Public distrust in the tax agencies has increased," he said.
He said the finance minister’s handling of the public relations crisis had been "reactive, partial, even rhetorical".
Zaenur Rohman, a researcher at the Gadjah Mada University Center for Anti-Corruption Studies, meanwhile, said Rafael’s wealth should be investigated fully to prevent public trust in the tax office from dwindling further.
He noted that the moment was critical, as the income tax filing deadline was approaching.
“The Finance Ministry must show that it means business," he said. (ahw)
