Tax slap at End of Year

Tax slap at End of Year
Three Bakrie firms suspected of tax payment fake Rp 2.1 trillion. If true, this is the largest in Indonesia.

YEAR 2007 is a year full of surprises for PT Bumi Resources Tbk. Trends in energy turnover from oil to coal to make a request black stone in the world jumped. Bakrie family-owned company that was part ketiban luck with new record sales of the extracted coal from East Kalimantan.

Earth could sell 55 million tons of coal with the highest price they ever get U.S. $ 44 (USD 440 thousand) per ton. On the other hand, after replacing the three contractors with their own property or sell a subsidiary, operating costs could be trimmed. As a result, Earth was a profit of U.S. $ 754 million or USD 7.54 trillion, up 42 percent from the previous year.

The euphoria that-the commissioners and directors boasted a new record in the financial statements, apparently obtained no elegant way. Council tax accountants menengarai engineer the Earth's 2007 tax payment of Rp 376 billion. "We're investigating," said Director General of Taxes Mochamad Tjiptardjo last weekend.

This case can reheat relationship Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati with Bakrie, the owner of this business group. To the Wall Street Journal, last week, Sri Mulyani said that the Aburizal was behind the political commotion Century case because do not like him. It is not possible disclosure of tax cases is accused as part of that feud.

However, Tjiptardjo said, this case actually a long terendap. The tax investigators have been examining allegations that the engineering of June 30, after finding evidence of more serious engineering on the other Bakrie companies, namely PT Kaltim Prima Coal, in 2009. Kaltim Prima allegedly fake tax payments cost the country 1.5 trillion. Later there were also allegations of engineering in PT Arutmin Indonesia U.S. $ 39 million.

Total general, companies in the coal is suspected embezzling Bakrie tax to Rp 2.1 trillion. If proven, this new record of tax evasion that has occurred in Indonesia. The previous record held by Asian Agri Group-owned oil palm company richest man in Indonesia, Sukanto Tanoto, who allegedly embezzled during the 2002-2005 tax amounting to Rp 1.4 trillion.

Money that could be used to build houses for 20 thousand families in Sidoarjo, East Java, which had silted up, estimated darkened by transfer pricing. This financial engineering techniques common to large companies that have a production line from upstream to downstream to avoid paying taxes too much.

One investigator told, allegedly engineered the tax terendus began in early 2009. Suspicion of tax officials is simple: three companies only pay taxes no more than Rp 2 trillion, but they sell so much coal with a good price at that time. Investigate a investigate, investigators said, the price of coal is reported in the tax notice is only half of the actual selling price.

How to make other consumers who like to buy coal at half the price. "It's as if because the transaction did not happen," said the senior tax investigators. "In fact, coal was sold directly to other purchasers at a price twice." Automatic price reduction cut transaction costs are low impact on the tax to be paid.

Officials in a compact unit of Bakrie declined to comment when asked for confirmation of the serious charges at the end of this year. "That's not my business, the President asked the Director," said Eddie J. Sobari, Director of Earth Resources, Kaltim Prima Coal, and Arutmin.

Ari S. Hudaya, who became president of three companies, said he would make an official release in response to allegations that the tax engineering. "Just wait, yes," he said. "Thank you for your attention."

Indeed they are not without an effort to prevent these cases reported rolling through crowded. Attorneys Bakrie Group had twice sent a letter to the Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani to stop the investigation. The request was rejected because the process has entered the investigation stage. "When examined why did not plead guilty and pay for it," said Tjiptardjo. "If it's an investigation like this, we can not back out."

According to Tjiptardjo, the tax actually being given the opportunity of three companies that take advantage of the sunset in 2008 a policy on the elimination of administrative sanction tax interest payments and improve the tax report. "But they insisted was not guilty," said one other investigator.

That is why, on 20 April 2009 to prevent tax officials Robertus Bismarck, a hierarchy of PT Kaltim Prima Coal, foreign travel after the set as a suspect. Robertus is the accountant who signed the annual tax notice. Tjiptardjo he allegedly called the charge engineering techniques that. Prevention remain in place despite the payment of some tax money.

Apparently, after checking up to the stage of investigation, Kaltim Prima also melted and willing to pay Rp 828 billion, followed Arutmin the deposit of U.S. $ 27.5 million. Late. According to Tjiptardjo, settlement of tax evasion does not prevent or remove a criminal offense. Even Law Taxation General Provisions set the fines due to fake tax returns for four times and one-time tax principal.

Payment of 500 percent of the amount of tax that darkened as a condition of the Minister of Finance or the Attorney General issued a warrant termination of the investigation. Of course if they want to pull out due to more importance than money back countries imprison people. Although the money could be returned, the prison go on.

Tjiptardjo also denied that the opening of a tax evasion case Bakrie companies was because of disagreement between the Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani and Aburizal Bakrie. "There's no political element, we have examined tax evasion was long before the fuss now," he said.

Apart from the chaotic two officials, the alleged tax evasion by the three Bakrie companies that, if later proved, has a new record in the history of taxation in Indonesia. "Our evidence is very strong," said Tjiptardjo.