An old phrase says nothing in life is certain but death and taxes. At a
time when the nexus of power and wealth is viewed with skepticism, a
peek into their tax returns might be expected to reveal the financial
affairs of Indonesia’s first family. Just like any other
eligible, law-abiding citizens, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and
his two sons — Maj. Agus Harimurti and Edhie “Ibas” Baskoro — file tax
returns.
Documents obtained by The Jakarta Post show Yudhoyono’s
2011 tax returns, submitted in the first quarter of 2012. He earned Rp
1.37 billion (US$143,000) during that year as President, in addition to
Rp 107 million in income from royalties.
The validity of these documents was confirmed by sources at the Finance Ministry’s taxation directorate general (Is it right?)
The
documents further revealed that in 2011 Yudhoyono opened bank accounts
worth Rp 4.98 billion and $589,188. The return does not provide specific
details for these funds. Presidential spokesman Julian Pasha did not
respond to the Post’s request for clarification on Tuesday.
The
Post was unable to obtain the President’s previous tax returns, hence it
is not known whether the deposits were a carryover from prior holdings
or a new accumulation.
Yudhoyono has been very explicit about the
need for citizens to fulfil their tax obligations, including the need
for transparency regarding the wealth of officials. “Let’s develop a
respectable culture […] creating a government which is clean,
transparent responsive, accountable,” he said at the Directorate General
of Taxation in 2009 as he submitted his annual tax returns.
Agus,
34, declared in his 2011 returns to have earned Rp 70.2 million in
annual income. Agus is an officer with the Army’s Strategic Reserve
Command (Kostrad) in Jakarta.
The tax documents also revealed
that Agus opened four different bank accounts and a deposit account
totaling Rp 1.63 billion. There was no information in the documents as
to how the additional income was earned as the section for extra income —
including that of his wife, fashion model Annisa Pohan — was left
blank.
Agus has been listed as a taxpayer since 2007, but had not submitted a tax return until 2011.
Ibas
said that he himself, “as a public official, in my capacity as a House
legislator, have consistently submitted my wealth report to the KPK
since 2009 and I have always fulfilled my obligations to submit my
annual tax report in line with the law.”
According to Ibas’ 2010
tax return, he earned Rp 183 million as a Democratic Party lawmaker. He
also had an investment worth Rp 900 million with PT Yastra Capital, a
cash deposit amounting to Rp 1.59 billion and cash equivalents of Rp
1.57 billion.
Ibas allegedly did not declare any extra income, such as
dividend payments, donations, stocks or investment proceeds. He had
total assets of Rp 6 billion as reported in his 2010 tax return,
including an Audi Q5 SUV car worth Rp 1.16 billion.
As a
legislator, Ibas is required to report his wealth to the Corruption
Eradication Commission (KPK), where he declared assets worth Rp 4.42
billion in 2009. In his 2009 tax return, Ibas’ assets were valued at Rp
5.18 billion. He declared no additional income from other sources.
Ibas’
father-in-law, Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa, had earlier
told that “as father to both of them, I can assure you that
there are no discrepancies whatsoever in their tax returns”.
Taxation
director general Fuad Rahmany told there should be a rational
explanation if any discrepancies were suspected in the tax affairs of
the first family.
“There is no way that the President’s family
failed to properly fill in their tax returns. They have a special team
that thoroughly calculates their tax obligations to ensure accuracy.”
Fuad
also said that the directorate “does not have the authority to question
taxpayers over any mismatch between their bank accounts and their
annual earnings”.
Let's see, it will be a hotnews or not.
