Jakarta –
director General Tax Ministry of Finance Suryo Utomo met PBNU Chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf (Gus Yahya), Thursday (2/3/2023). The meeting was originally scheduled to be at the PBNU office but because Gus Yahya was unwell, the meeting was then shifted to a private residence in the Menteng area, Central Jakarta.
In the meeting from 08.30 to 10.00 WIB, Suryo Utomo was accompanied by several officials from the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT). While Gus Yahya, among others, was accompanied by other administrators such as Alisa Qotrunnada Wahid and Jusuf Hamka.
“Gus Yahya emphasized that PBNU has never made a call to boycott paying taxes, because NU has always been in line with the government,” said Jusuf Hamka quoting a conversation at the meeting.
If there is a case that is personal or individual in nature, he continued, it is certainly not appropriate to attack the institution. Gus Yahya also hopes that the legal process against the son of a former pInvite operate in an objective and transparent manner.
As previously reported, there was a call from the former chairman of PBNU KH Said Aqil Siroj for the people not to pay taxes. This is related to the alleged misappropriation of tax funds by former tax official, Rafael Alun Trisambodo. Rafael’s son, Mario Dandy Satriyo, was previously involved in violence against David Latumahina.
According to Jusuf Hamka, who is chairman of PBNU’s Welfare Division, what Kiai Said Aqil said was not wise. As administrators of DKI Jakarta’s Amil Zakat, Infaq and Sodaqoh Agency (BAZIS), make an analogy if a son of a BAZIS administrator misuses zakat funds, is it appropriate to call on all Muslims not to pay zakat.
“As scholars who we respect together, it’s better not to be provocative. As a businessman, I testify that a lot has changed in our world of taxation. In 2016 I reported a tax person who was naughty, he was immediately fired,” he said.
In addition, Jusuf Hamka, who is also a toll road entrepreneur, continued, this tax has been clearly beneficial for financing development. “Setback is if no one wants to pay taxes,” he concluded.
See also the video ‘Antipathic Response to Taxes, Ministry of Finance Guarantees the Flow of Funds Does Not Pass Through Officers’:
Watch Video “The Director General of Taxes Condemns the Behavior of His Employee’s Children Who Abuse and Show Off Their Assets“
(jat/ara)
