A tax amnesty has been widely debated as it would waive prosecution for past offenses for citizens who failed to comply with previous tax obligations, to lure them to reinvest money in the country.
In an interview with The Jakarta Post on Sunday, Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said that the policy, which could be implemented as soon as this year, would not be an ordinary tax amnesty, as it would cover pardons for general financial crimes such as corruption and money laundering.
When asked his response to possible criticism of the policy’s moral hazard, Bambang said, “Do we want the status quo or do we want to change things? If we want the status quo, fine. But who’s happy? Tell me, who is happy for the funds to stay overseas? Singapore, that’s who. Once this policy is implemented, [Singapore] will be affected.”
Bambang cited as an example Italy, which used to enact regular amnesties to repatriate proceeds parked by organized-crime groups in Swiss banks.