Pardoning the turkey, I mean the tax evaders
 
Despite the years I spent in the US, I never quite understood the pardoning of the turkey by the president before Thanksgiving. It didn't matter how many times a well-meaning American tried to explain it to me, I always ended up wonderifig why anyone would need to pardon a turkey.
I guess the same dogged incomprehension is also whafs bothering some people about the tax amnesty rolled out by the government in recent months. It doesn't matter how slow, simple and patient a well-meaning official attempts to explain the intrinsic objective and benefits of the tax amnesty for the country, there will always be people who shrug it off as an easy swinging door for fat cats. If you're one of those well-meaning souls, you have my sympathy. I'd rather focus on the ones who understand the benefits and are in the position to partake.
No doubt the real targets are seriously rich Indonesians who have undeclared and/or untaxed assets,
domestically or overseas. Yet interestingly, many people outside that bountiful bracket are just as keen to participate. While some of them do have stashed assets or unreported income, many of them simply fall into the category of having not reported investments or income streams that have been taxed to the limit — upper-middle class folks who lead relatively normal, non-tycoon lives and don't practically owe the government back taxes in that respect
A   bigger,   almost   undiscussed group is ^xpayers who are in the
position to participate in the tax amnesty yet harbor huge doubt on how the government will deal with their repatriated financial assets. What is the government's solid plans to use these funds to boost economy growth? What if the economy remains stagnant and these assets don't grow? What if the rupiah keeps falling and these assets devalue along with it? Are there even any contingency plans in place? Ifs not so much about the taxes they'll need to start paying after repatriation, but how much the assets will be worth in the future once repatriated.
These are the questions floating around in small circles in certain boardrooms, at dinner parties, art gatherings, overseas marathon trips or even on quiet evenings by an apartment compound's private swimming pool. Reasonable questions, as money has neither religion nor passport, one must say. Almost no solid assurance in the form of a sound plan has come from the government, one must also say.
Another interesting thing floating about in these circles is that while most have expressed no doubt over Sri Mulyani Indrawati's expertise in managing the country's economy and finances, most acknowledge that the government doesn't solely consist of the Finance Ministry. There are other ministries with their own problems, agenda and level of capacity that are well beyond the finance minister's control and responsibilities. As a middle-aged businessman half-jokingly remarked, Sri Mulyani is a great colonel that he'd happily go to war with, but there are other colonels plus a commanding general whose prowess in growing the economy he seriously questioned. And if ifs on the minds of businesspeople of his stature, imagine the doubts hanging on the backs of real tycoons with massive assets to bet on.
As for me, while I'm in no immediate danger of becoming a tycoon, I do pay my taxes, and every single time I file an annual tax return I can't help but feel a sense of helplessness
in noticing that the largest bulk of my taxes go to footing the payroll of useless legislative members, police personnel who often forget to protect and serve and underperforming civil servants. That helplessness often turns into seething anger whenever I trek outside the comfort of Java into horrible ports with no ship routes, hills without electricity, villages without decent schools and so forth. The President has been loudly touting the merits of a digital economy and has even urged small and medium enterprises to follow in the giant footsteps of Alibaba, yet everyone who travels often enough into the central and eastern time zones of Indonesia understand that 3G is mostly available within the limits of provincial capitals and big towns. And here I thought President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo traveled around every Christmas and Lebaran.
Back to the tax amnesty. From the tax office's online dashboard as per Sept. 29 at 2:30 p.m., penalty payments were recorded at
Rp69.6trillion(USS5.3billion)ofthe Rp 165 trillion goal, while declared assets hit Rp. 2.7 quadrillion of the Rp 4 quadrillion target Not too shabby, with one day remaining on the first cut-off date and one of the two numbers has hit past the 50 percent mark. The penalty payments will rise in coming months, yet the tax amnesty submissions shouldn't necessarily grow less if the government can come forward more convincingly in detailing its plans to boost the economy.
Oct 20 will mark the second anniversary of this administration. Citizens have been patient and, as the progress of the tax amnesty suggests, remain relatively trusting and cooperative. But long-term trust must be earned. Now ifs time for your bold move, Sirs.
Don't make me go talking about turkeys in my next column.
Lynda Ibrahim is a Jakarta-based writer with a penchant for purple, pussycats and pop culture.