Jokowi Says Tax Directorate General Should Become Ministry
22 April 2014 20:30 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)’s presidential hopeful Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has commented to the recent arrest of former Tax Director General Hadi Purnomo that the government needed to revamp its current taxation system.
The Jakarta governor suggested the tax directorate general be upgraded to tax ministry on the grounds that 70 percent of state revenue stemmed from tax. “The tax [directorate general] should become an independent body or ministry, or directly under the president,” he said at the City Hall on Tuesday, April 22, 2014.
The graduate of the Forestry Faculty of Gadjah Mada University explained that according to the management principles it was impossible that revenue and expenditure administrations were both controlled by a single institution.
“In management, it is impossible that revenue and expenditure are regulated under one ministry. The ministry will be the one spending and receiving [the money]. You get the money, and you spend it as well. Hmm, what do you think?” Jokowi told reporters.
Jokowi said the separation between state institutions in charge of state revenue and expenditure had been adopted by a number of countries. “Anywhere, in any country, when it comes to tax, it will be directly under the president. Because this is about state revenue, be careful.”
The Jakarta governor said he had already taken measures to fix the taxation system in the capital. “I think we need to fix the system, like we have done in Jakarta, such as online taxation system on hotels, restaurants, parking lots, this is what we call fixing the system,” he said.
ATMI PERTIWI