TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Indonesia is not a tax haven. However, Indonesia is not a tax hell either, he said. “I think Indonesia is in between, not a heaven, but not a [tax] hell either,” Kalla said on Monday during the opening of International Conference on Tax, Investment and Business (ICTIB) 2016 and 13th Asia-Pacific Tax Forum (APTF) at Dhanpala building, Finance Ministry, Jakarta.

Kalla’s remark was based on the fact that Indonesia’s tax to GDP ratio is still below 11 percent, which is lower compared to those of other countries. “The rate is also modest, not as low as that of Singapore, not as high as those of Scandinavian countries or the United States. Thus, [Indonesia is] not a heaven and not a hell,” Kalla noted.

Kalla said tax is used to pay civil servants, to build roads, ports and other infrastructures. In other words, tax is important for the development of a country. However, some people avoid paying taxes by seeking out tax havens. The term tax haven has inspired Kalla to joke about tax hell. “If there is a heaven, there should also be a hell. It means a country which [tax] rate is high and strict,” Kalla said.

AMIRULLAH