TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The well known lawyer, Hotman Paris Hutapea participated in the tax amnesty program socialization that was held by the Ministry of Finance. Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani, at one point explained that there are only 572 lawyers in Jakarta that possess an NPWP (Tax ID Number).

“I almost wanted to cry. Only 500 lawyers in Jakarta own an NPWP? My question is, there are 200 lawyers in a lawyer’s office at the stock exchange building alone. At Sudirman-Thamrin, I’m sure that there’s around 1,500 lawyers,” Hotman said on Wednesday, November 23, 2016.

According to Hotman, it’s impossible for a lawyer to not own an NPWP. He suspects that the data released by the Ministry of Finance is inaccurate. “How could they not own an NPWP? Is the data wrong or what? I suspect that the data’s wrong. In every lawyer’s test, there are 1,000 people that participate. And (owning) an NPWP is an absolute requirement. Five hundred is too small. It’s an insult for lawyers,” Hotman continued.

Sri Mulyani immediately answered Hotman’s questions by mentioning that not every taxpayer that participates in the tax amnesty program would declare their profession. “But i will continue to remind (them) because I’m sure that there are still many that don’t participate in tax amnesty. I want Pak Hotman to cry, but then assist me,” Sri Mulyani said.

According to Sri Mulyani, by having 1,500 lawyers available throughout Sudirman-Thamrin, as mentioned by Hotman, she feels annoyed by tax office leaders in Jakarta. “(They’re) aware of the fact that there’s a huge (number of) lawyers (but) why don’t (they) go after them? That’s why, they will receive our ‘love letter’ soon,” She said with a smile on her face.

Hotman then proposed that the law on Bank Secrecy should be erased as soon as possible. ”Around 99 percent of money owned by humans are in banks. If the Law (UU) on Bank Secrecy was erased, tax amnesty’s income would double to 100 percent. But no one dares to suggest that. Why haven’t Bu Minister of Finance dare to suggest that?”

Sri Mulyani then responded Hotman’s suggestion by explaining that there are many laws (UU) in the field of taxation that are still in the process of filling a revision. Currently, state officials are focusing on revising the law on General Provisions Tax, Income Tax and Value Added Tax. “We accept Pak Hotman’s suggestion.”

ANGELINA ANJAR SAWITRI