Sharp differences among political factions at the House of Representatives have affected deliberations of the draft tax amnesty bill, making it difficult for the bill to be completed by the end of April.
During a House Steering Committee (Bamus) meeting on Wednesday, House Deputy Speaker Agus Hermanto said several factions had not yet agreed to proceed further with the draft bill
“It will be difficult to finish the bill during this sitting session,” Agus said at the House complex in Senayan, South Jakarta, on Wednesday.
Several House political factions reportedly requested that the draft bill be discussed with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. This would temporarily halt deliberations of the draft bill. Agus did not say how long deliberations would be postponed.
Democratic Party politician Airlangga Hartarto, who sits on House Commission XI overseeing banking and finance, said on Tuesday it was hoped that the draft bill could be passed in the third quarter of 2016, at the latest.
In contrast, House Speaker Ade Komarudin insisted that the draft bill discussion would not be delayed. He said the results of the Bamus meeting would be given to Jokowi and the draft bill would be discussed according to the President’s schedule.
Ade previously said he was optimistic that the House would be able to pass the draft bill before the submission of revised 2016 state budget.
In the draft bill, the government offers tax discounts to individuals and companies who declare their untaxed wealth.
Unclear political stances
Agus did not give details when journalists asked him to give examples of conflicting political stances over the draft bill. Agus said the Democrats wanted to study matters related to good governance and budget utilization.
Separately, Azis Syamsuddin, secretary of the Golkar Party faction, conveyed a different stance.
“We should be able to decide whether to further discuss the draft bill. This is because four factions have requested a consultancy meeting on the discussion of the bill while six other factions have agreed to discuss the bill,” Azis said on Wednesday. He claimed that the Golkar faction had agreed that the bill should be further discussed.
Meanwhile, Hanura Party faction secretary Dadang Rusdiana said two factions rejected further discussing the draft bill, while four factions had agreed to discuss the bill. Four other factions demanded a consultancy meeting, he added.
Apart from preparing the draft bill, the government plans to revise the state budget to obtain a more realistic figure, including for its tax revenue target.
In the 2016 state budget, the total tax revenue target is currently set at Rp 1.36 quadrillion (US$102.64 billion), 28.2 per cent higher than the Rp 1.06 quadrillion achieved in 2015.
The House resumed on Wednesday its fourth sitting session, which will run until April 29. (ebf)
