This is in line with the statements of Mr. Ma’ruf Amin and Mr. Tito Karnivian while attending the National Dialogue event between the General Elections Commission (KPU), the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu), the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) and Political Parties in the framework of preparing for the 2024 Election. at The St. Regis Hotel Jakarta, Monday (13/03/2023).
During the event, both requested that the tax compliance data of the presidential and legislative candidates be disclosed transparently and also asked the Directorate General of Taxes to open tax compliance data from the presidential and legislative candidates. With this, it is hoped that it can increase transparency and accountability as well as build public trust which will later inspire the public to be obedient and obedient in tax matters.
In America, the tradition of opening tax reporting to the public by presidential candidates has become a common practice. The aim is to build public confidence in the candidates that they have carried out their tax obligations properly.
Transparency like this is expected to give confidence to the public that the elected leaders have fulfilled their tax obligations properly. This is very important because the leaders elected must be a good example in fulfilling tax obligations and can help prevent acts of corruption or abuse of power.
While in Indonesia itself adheres to a self-assessment tax system. In this system, taxpayers have the obligation to register, calculate, pay and report taxes independently without any interference from the tax authorities. So that it is expected to increase efficiency and effectiveness as well as encourage taxpayer compliance with tax obligations.
To report taxes, taxpayers use SPT documents (Notification Letters) which contain information about income that has been withheld by other parties or paid by themselves, information on assets and liabilities/debts in a certain period.
In addition, SPT can function as a control tool for the Directorate General of Taxes to ensure taxpayer compliance has been carried out in accordance with applicable tax regulations. So that in accordance with the mandate of the law, the SPT must be reported by the taxpayer correctly, completely and clearly in accordance with the actual situation.
In accordance with Article 34 of the Law on General Provisions and Tax Procedures, the confidentiality of SPT data is protected. Every official, both tax officers and those who carry out tasks in the field of taxation are prohibited from disclosing the confidentiality of taxpayers regarding taxation issues, including: SPT data, financial reports, data obtained in tax audits, data obtained from third parties and taxpayer documents other.
Except for the purposes of examination in court hearings, the Minister of Finance can provide such data at the request of a judge in writing. However, it is a different matter if the presidential and legislative candidates voluntarily disclose tax data themselves, then of course this does not violate the law.
The discourse to open tax data through proposals from various parties has been echoed for a long time, especially in the run-up to elections like today. However, until now this has not been accomplished. Based on the election rules, presidential candidates must complete a photocopy of NPWP, proof of SPT reporting and have paid taxes for the last five years through SPT. However, it seems that this is only a formal compliance and it is not known what is the material truth of the fairness of assets, income earned, and taxes that have been paid so far.
Presidential and legislative candidates can be role models for society by reporting and implementing tax obligations properly and correctly. Given the importance of the role of taxes as the largest source of revenue in state revenue, prospective leaders and people’s representatives who dare to show the fairness of the assets owned and the taxes paid will show their awareness of the importance of taxes for the country.
By daring to disclose their tax data, they will show that so far they have formally complied with taxes by submitting SPT reports and materially have the courage to account for the list of assets and taxes that have been paid. So that it will build public trust as a candidate for leaders and representatives of the people who have good credibility and integrity.