Hide and Seek: Luxury Car Tax Evaders Chose Apartments and Malls to Hide
Jakarta. A recent police operation revealed that apartment garages and shopping malls become the hiding spot for luxury cars with overdue taxes.
This raid was conducted by the West Jakarta Police at two apartment complexes and shopping malls in the Grogol Petamburan area.
These tax evaders - with a total overdue tax of Rp 488 million - chose parking lots to avoid tax officials and police.
Led by Elling Hartono, tax unit head of the West Jakarta's One-Stop Administration Services Office, or Samsat, the operation was carried out in the weekend when the car owners were most likely to let their guard down. As a result, 103 luxury vehicles with unpaid taxes were caught including a BMW X1 sDrive, a Mercedez Benz B 303 DD, a Toyota Alphard and a BMW X3.
These overdue tax payers - including those who had not paid more than six months - were greeted with a striking orange sticker reading "Tax on this object is not paid yet" on their windshields.
"We are placing these stickers all over Jakarta," Elling said on Monday.
Administrative letters will be delivered for those who fail to comply to tax payment in seven working days following the sticker placement. If tax evasion still persists, sanctions will be imposed including seizing their vehicles.
On their operation, flyers were also handed out to increase the public's tax compliance especially with the lifting of tax penalty suspension on Dec. 30.
Indonesian luxury car owners have been constantly put on the hot seat with the recent controversies.
Previously, the Jakarta Tax and Levy Agency, or BPRD, along with the South Jakarta Samsat attended three shopping centers including Pacific Place Mall, Epicentrum and Pondok Indah Mall I in search for luxury cars with unpaid taxes. BPRD head Faisal Syafruddin said that 62 luxury cars were revealed to have a total overdue tax of Rp 276 million.
Last week, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati revealed rampant smuggling of luxury cars and motorcycles into the country and she had established a joint team with the police and the prosecutor’s office to tackle this issue.
The East Java police also has seized dozens of luxury cars for unpaid taxes and a lack of valid documents.
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