The Dirty Game of Tax Manipulation
THE Director-General of Taxes has fired 55 tax officials and taken disciplinary action against hundreds of others for receiving bribes and forging tax invoices. Tax revenues are supposed to be the backbone of the Indonesian economy, but corruption is whittling this backbone away. Examination of the departments records by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) found some Rp1.95 trillion in tax rebates had gone into the pockets of corrupt tax officials and businesses in 2004 alone. Tempo looks into this dirty game of tax manipulation.
June 21, 2005
SISWANTO is a janitor at the Gubeng Tax Office in the East Java city of Surabaya. His official salary is less than Rp1 million (US$100) a month, but he earns much more than this on the sidelines. With a monthly income amounting to Rp50 million, Siswanto dresses in style (while not at work), lives in a lavishly furnished type 58 house, drives a Rp150 million Kijang Innova, eats in expensive restaurants, relaxes in cafs, and stays in fancy hotels.
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