Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Finance Minister Chatib Basri said the next government was
expected to discuss the separation of the Tax Directorate General from
the Finance Ministry.
"Why should it be the next government? It is because it has a great
implication. The amendment of a law will take time up to three month.
This is the reason from the legal aspect," the finance minister said
here on Wednesday night.
Chatib Basri said that the problem of
separating the tax directorate general needed to be discussed as the
mechanism in Indonesia was different from that in other countries.
In the United States for example it was the Internal Revenue
Services (IRS) which collected taxes and produced the legal basis on the
internal revenue, he said.
He said that the IRS was not involved at all in the making of tax
policies because its task was merely to collect taxes and cooperate
with legal institutions to take legal actions if there were tax dodgers.
"The processes are different from those of the directorate general
of tax in Indonesia. The directorate general has the objectives to not
merely collect revenues. The IRS has no burden to set a revenue target,"
he added.
The finance minister added that the directorate general of tax had
the burden of setting tax collection targets as the House of
Representatives (DPR) suggested that it should have the spirit of
continuously increasing tax collections.
This is owning to the fact that the financial law of the state
stipulates that the budget deficit should not exceed three percent, the
minister said.
"So, what should be done with the policy making if the directorate
general of tax is separated from the finance ministry and its task is
only collecting taxes. We should discuss it first carefully. If
Indonesia follows the IRS of the United States the deficit could exceed
three percent and it will thus violate the law," Minister Chatib said.
He said that the problem should be seen in the macro coordination
aspect. Therefore, the next government which will begin its term of
office at the end of the year should discuss it first.(WDY)
Next Govt Expected to Discuss Separation of Tax Directorate General
Kamis, 17 Juli 2014 11:48 WIB