Google Representatives Meet Indonesia's Chief Taxman
Jakarta. A new chapter is about to begin in Google's tax dispute with Indonesian authorities, as a meeting between the representatives of the tech giant and officials of the Finance Ministry's tax directorate general finally took place in Jakarta on Thursday (19/01).
The meeting was initially scheduled for December, but it was cancelled by Google, which requested more time prepare.
Indonesia's tax authorities want to investigate Google's holding company, Alphabet, over allegedly unpaid taxes from advertising.
The tech giant may have around Rp 5 trillion ($373 million) in tax arrears and penalties for the past five years, head of the tax office's special cases branch Muhammad Haniv told reporters.
"The director general wanted to meet Google to know firsthand why it took them so long to submit their financial report," he added.
Thursday's meeting started at 3 p.m. at the headquarters of the tax directorate general in South Jakarta and lasted about two hours.
"Google Indonesia has been operating as an Indonesian company since 2011. We have and we will keep collaborating with the Indonesian government and have paid all taxes religiously in the country," Google representatives said in a statement after the meeting.
The tax office said it needs to obtain additional data to complete Google's financial report, which it received from the company in December, and calculate its tax arrears.
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