JAKARTA (TheInsiderStories) - Directorate General of Taxation of the Finance Ministry reported that the repatriated funds from Singapore by Indonesians accounted for more than half of the total amount repatriated from abroad under the country’s landmark Tax Amnesty program, which ends today.
Significant amounts of repatriated funds were also coming from British Virgin Islands amounted to Rp76.92 trillion, Hong Kong Rp56.27 trillion, Cayman Islands Rp52.86 trillion, Australia Rp41.15 trillion and China Rp3.65 trillion.
More than 57 percent, or Rp84.52 trillion (S$8.85 billion), was sent from Singapore as of yesterday, Suryo Utomo, the Finance Ministry’s tax compliance expert, said. Singapore also accounted for most of the assets declared under the program, or 73 percent, amounted to Rp751.19 trillion.
The amount of redemption fund under the tax amnesy program third period (January-March 2017) only reached Rp710 billion, far less the amount of redemtion fund in previous period of Tax Amnesty program, amounting to Rp103.2 trillion.
The Tax Office said declared assets parked in Singapore also represented 73 percent of total overseas declared assets owned by Indonesian citizens, amounting to Rp751.19 trillion.
It is estimated that around US$250 billion or Rp3,250 trillion of Indonesian assets are parked abroad, mostly in Singapore, which is estimated to reach US$200 billion (Rp2,600 trillion.
Of the Rp2,600 trillion assets owned by Indonesians in Singapore, around Rp650 trillion were parked in the form of non-investable assets such as property.
The Indonesian government launched the Tax Amnesty program last year in a move to bring in assets owned by Indonesians to the country as well as improve tax compliance and tax base.
In the first period of the Tax Amenesty Program (July-September 2016), the total Redemption Funds reached RP97.2 trillion and in the second period (October-November 2016) amounted to Rp6 trillion, far less that the amount collected in the first period.
Many observers and the government have claimed Indonesia’s Tax Amnesty program, under the President Joko Widodo govenrment, has been one of the most successful tax amnesty program in the world. (*)