The First Family's Tax Reports

President Soesilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) has frequently stated about the need for people to fulfill their tax obligations, and about the importance of transparency regarding the wealth of government/state officials.

That's why I was very surprised when The Jakarta Post reported about some discrepancies in the annual Tax Reports filed by him and his sons i.e. Major Agus Harimurti (Agus) and Edhie Baskoro (Ibas) for the year 2011 (below).

The paper wrote that the President's tax report mentioned that he earned Rp 1,37 Billion as President in addition to Rp 107 Million in income from Royalties. That year, SBY opened bank accounts worth 4.98 Billion and US$ 589.188 but there's no specific details for these funds.

Agus mentioned that his annual income as an Army officer is Rp 70,2 million, and he has 4 savings accounts at four different banks totaling Rp 1.63 Billion, but he did not give information about his or his wife's additional income. The total tax he paid amounts to Rp 2.7 Million.

Whereas Ibas mentioned that as a member of the People's Representative Council he earned Rp 183 Million. He also mentioned an investment in PT Yastra Capital worth Rp 900 Million, saving account of Rp 1,59 Billion, and cash money of Rp 1,57 Billion. However, he did not mention other sources of income like dividend, share etc.  The tax he paid : Rp 20 Million. Whereas his tax report in 2010 mentioned that his assets worth Rp 6 Billion including a car  Audi Q5 SUV worth Rp 1,16 Billion.

The Jakarta Post reported that President SBY has asked the Finance Ministry's Directorate General of Taxation to publicly address the above mentioned discrepancy allegations. 

In this connection, the Director General of Taxation Fuad Rahmany clarified that the President and his sons have met the required taxation administration procedures and have complied with the existing law and regulations. He said that there is no way that the President's family failed to properly fill in their tax report. Because they have a special team that thoroughly calculates their tax obligations to ensure accuracy.