TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said any company seeking income in Indonesia must pay taxes, including Singapore-based Google Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. Sri Mulyani said she did not care where the headquarters of the company is.

“I have told Google: ‘If you make money here, it’s just fair for you to pay tax here. I don’t care where your headquarters is’,” Sri Mulyani said during tax amnesty dissemination at Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Jakarta, Tuesday, November 8, 2016.

Sri Mulyani refuses to accept that a company running its business in Indonesia reports and pays its taxes in tax haven. “It is also immoral,” said the former World Bank director.

The government has been pushing Singapore-based Google Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. to pay its taxes. Last week, Director General of Tax Ken Dwijugiasteadi met with Google representatives to discuss the issue.

On Monday, November 7, Ken confirmed that Google Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. will pay off its income taxes in Indonesia this year. Google is registered as a legal entity at the Tanah Abang Tax Office as foreign investor since September 15, 2011.

The government, however, could yet impose income tax on Google as it has not had a permanent establishment (BUT) in Indonesia. Google would be charged with 25 percent tax rate if willing to have one. The government estimates that Google’s generates Rp5.5 trillion from its service and product sales in Indonesia.

ANGELINA ANJAR SAWITRI