Agus Martowardojo even suggested that corrupt officials receive death penalty because they disadvantaged the state and severely affected the public`s trust in the directorate general of taxation.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo has stated that people must pay taxes, as regulated by the law, for the benefit of the state.

"Payment of tax is absolutely an obligation for the people. It is important for the state," he said here on Monday, in response to a warning by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia, about boycotting tax payment if corruption continued to be rampant in the country.

"The government has worked hard and tried to be transparent in its financial reports. It is also taking legal action against officials suspected of evading tax," Agus noted.

Besides, he added, the government had implemented reforms to improve the performance of the directorate general of taxation "so it could collect taxes effectively and be accountable as well".

"So, please respond to our efforts with full support and assistance in upholding the law and also with full trust that we are moving in the right direction. We should remember that there are still many corrupt people out there who must be given proper punishment," Agus said.

The finance minister pointed out that boycotting tax payment was not a proper solution because the government was making sincere efforts to prevent embezzlement and corruption crimes, which caused unrest among the nation`s people.

"We are now able to punish those who committed corruption. We are carrying out the government`s activities transparently. The government also released its financial reports to the media, which can be accessed by the public," he said.

Agus even suggested that corrupt officials receive death penalty because they disadvantaged the state and severely affected the public`s trust in the directorate general of taxation.

Earlier, NU,at its national congress, raised questions on the people`s obligation to pay taxes in view of the fact that corrupt officials siphoned off the revenue from the taxes.

"If the government fails to tackle corruption seriously and does not manage taxes well, we will call for a moratorium on tax payment, at least for NU members," NU General Chairman Said Aqil Siroj said during the National Meeting of Ulamas and NU Congress at Kempek Boarding School in Cirebon, West Java, on Sunday.

The NU submitted three important recommendations to the government at the end of its congress and ulamas meeting in Ciregon on Monday.

The three recommendations involved suggestions to the government to eliminate corruption, manage tax revenues more effectively, and review the national education system.

According to NU, the government is not taking adequate steps to fight corruption because law enforcers such as the police are not making enough efforts.

With regard to tax, the NU urged the government to be "transparent and responsible for tax receipts and their allocations", adding that it must ensure that there was no wrongdoing.

The NU called on the government to use taxes for the welfare of the people, particularly the weaker sections of society.

The organization warned that people, particularly the organization`s members, would stop paying taxes if the government failed to act on its recommendations.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2012