TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The President of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers, Said Iqbal, said that the passing of the Tax Amnesty Bill into Law will create an uneven playing field that will put workers at a disadvantage - as the law is designed in such a way that it benefits only those who had avoided to pay their due taxes.
"We have to pay taxes every month, and our contribution is directly taken from our monthly pay checks," Iqbal said at the Constitutional Court (MK) on Friday, July 21, 2016. "On the other had, corporations and industry owners - who should have been paying their contributions - are given amnesty despite their obvious disobedience of our existing taxation laws."
Said Iqbal, who came to MK along with his attorney, Muchtar Pakpahan, is known to have filed a judicial review of the Law. As he filed for the review, a worker's solidarity protests broke out right in front of the MK Building on Friday, July 22, 2016.
Iqbal said that the Tax Amnesty Law is created solely to boost Indonesia's economic growth by closing in the national deficit by providing incentives for tax-avoiders to return their money in Indonesia - at the expense of the law. According to Iqbal, this is a clear violation of Law No. 27 of the 1945 Indonesian Constitution, which holds all individuals as equal in front of the law.
"Why are embezzlers given a higher status in front of the law just for the sake of closing in our budget deficit?," said Iqbal, before calling on MK to remember that the Constitution should be a part of the entire law structure - as opposed to a piece of abstract notion that could be moulded as stakeholders see fit.
FAUZY DZULFIQAR | BUDI RIZA
