TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - House of Representatives' (DPR) Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon said the tax amnesty program should not cause public restlessness, especially among the low middle class. The Gerindra Party politician said the tax amnesty program should be targeted at funds invested overseas and those owned by huge companies, not taxpaying citizens.
"If the public grow restless, things will turn sour for the government and we haven't seen the full benefits of tax yet," Fadli said at the parliament complex in Jakarta, August 30.
Fadli's statement addresses the #StopBayarPajak or stop paying taxes hashtag that has been trending in social networks over the last week. The hashtag is often followed by posts and tweets that say the tax amnesty program is a torturing the people.
The tax amnesty program is also regarded to be more targeted at the working class instead of tax evaders that hiding their assets abroad.
DPR's other deputy speaker Taufik Kurniawan hopes the government will respond to the polemic soon. He asserted that the main goal of tax amnesty us to repatriate overseas funds. "It shouldn't be used to target taxpaying citizens," Taufik said.
Taufik said the tax amnesty program must not scare the public. That's why the government needs to protect untaxed income through a derivative rule of the Tax Amnesty Law.
To end the polemic, Tax Directorate General Ken Dwijugiasteadi issued the Tax DG Regulation No.11/2016 on the Further Regulation on the Implementation of Tax Law No.11/2016 on Tax Amnesty.
The rule stipulates that people with a yearly income of less than Rp 54 million a year or Rp 4.5 million a month are released from the mandate to participate in the tax amnesty program.
ARKHELAUS W | ANGELINA ANJAR
