DGT Targets "Crazy Rich" Tax Filings, Many Tax Returns Deemed Inconsistent with Data

JAKARTA. The Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) of the Ministry of Finance has begun paying serious attention to the tax compliance of High Wealth Individuals (HWI). This move follows the tax authority's discovery of several discrepancies between reported Annual Tax Returns (SPT) and the comparative data currently held by the DGT.

In an effort to follow up on these findings, the DGT has summoned a number of wealthy taxpayers for consultation and clarification processes. Director General of Taxes, Bimo Wijayanto, stated that this supervision is being conducted alongside the strengthening of the tax authority's database, which includes access to beneficial owner information.

"We have data that may not have been well-communicated in the past. However, some taxpayers assumed we did not have access to that data, so it was not reported in their SPT," said Bimo during an event held at the Tax Education and Training Center on Thursday (11/12), as quoted by kontan.co.id.

Bimo explained that stronger data also allows the DGT to conduct more comprehensive compliance benchmarking. However, in practice, there are still high-income taxpayers whose reported tax obligations do not match their actual economic status.

According to Bimo, this situation creates a fiscal paradox. While the high-income group possesses significant economic capacity, their tax contributions are not always proportional. "Fiscal policy should serve as a balancer so that social and income inequality can be minimized," he emphasized.

Moving forward, the DGT ensures it will continue to strengthen data- and risk-based supervision. The summoning of wealthy taxpayers is expected to encourage transparency, improve compliance, and maintain a sense of fairness within the national taxation system. (KEN)