Heru Andriyanto, Surabaya – The East Java Police have seized fourteen luxury cars worth billions of rupiah for a lack of valid ownership documents and unpaid taxes in recent operations, a senior officer said on Monday.
They include three rare McLaren supercars, five Ferraris, two Porsches, a Lamborghini, an Aston Martin, a Mini Cooper and a Nissan GTR.
"So far we have confiscated 14 luxury cars and the number is very likely to grow," East Java Police Chief Insp. Gen. Luki Hermawan told reporters in Surabaya.
Operations targeting undocumented luxury cars were launched after a Lamborghini caught fire in the East Java capital last week, Luki said. As the video of the incident went viral on social media, police launched a probe and it was later found that the Lambo had no proper documents.
The operations were conducted on streets by the traffic police and also by door-to-door visits, he said.
"We take measures against luxury cars that run without valid documents and also follow public tip-off to seize some of those cars in door-to-door visits," the officer said.
Potential revenues from luxury vehicle taxes in East Java are put at Rp 125 billion ($8.9 million) annually, but owners of around 600 vehicles have not paid their taxes this year, East Java Earnings Board head Boedi Prijo said.
"They account for about 8 percent of luxury vehicles in East Java, with overdue taxes totaling around Rp 10 billion," Boedi told BeritaSatu TV.
Problems with luxury car owners shirking payment were also dealt with stern measures in Jakarta, where more than 1,100 luxury cars and motorcycles still owe the city Rp 37 billion in unpaid taxes.
Jakarta tax officials and police attended apartment garages and shopping malls in search for those luxury vehicles with overdue tax. Whenever they found one, they put a striking orange sticker reading "Tax on this object is not paid yet" on the windshield.
Annual luxury vehicle tax is varied in Indonesia depending on the tag price. Owner of a Ferrari or Lamborghini has to pay between Rp 150 million and Rp 200 million a year, while tax on a Rolls Royce could fetch Rp 1 billion.