Adil Al Hasan, Jakarta – House Commission XI head Mukhamad Misbakhun denied that his committee had canceled the discussion on the Tax Amnesty Bill, claiming that the regulation remained a priority. "Who said it was canceled? It remains under the priority national legislation program (Prolegnas) list of Commission XI," said the Golkar Party politician when contacted on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
The Tax Amnesty Bill was previously listed under the priority Prolegnas for 2025.
In contrast, a member of the same commission, Harris Turino, did not dismiss the possibility of canceling the bill. "There's no discussion plan thus far, so it might get canceled," he told Tempo at the Parliament complex, Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday, April 21, 2025.
Tax amnesty is an incentive offered by the government to individual and corporate taxpayers who disclose assets that have not previously or have not been fully reported. This program was initially implemented in 2016-2017.
In 2022, the government again implemented tax amnesty through the Voluntary Disclosure Program, or volume II of tax amnesty. The plan to implement tax amnesty volume III emerged after the tax amnesty bill was passed into Prolegnas in a plenary meeting on Tuesday, November 19, 2024.
The House set 41 bills to be included in the Priority Prolegnas, one of which is the Amendment Bill to Law Number 11 Year 2016 on tax amnesty proposed by Commission XI. "Until now, the proposed discussion has not started at all. Maybe the benefits should be studied because there have been several instances of tax amnesty," he said.
Previously, tax observer from the Center for Indonesia Taxation Analysis (CITA), Fajry Akbar, criticized the government's plan to re-implement tax amnesty, citing negative impacts on tax compliance.
Tax amnesty, according to him, signals that pardons will continue to exist, leading them to undermine tax payment. "This badly impacts long-term compliance and revenue, as well as the credibility of tax authorities, inciting distrust," said Fajry when contacted in mid-January 2025.
– Ilona Esterina contributed to the writing of this article.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1999950/house-denies-cancelation-of-tax-amnesty-bill-discussio