Tax office to summon Google to clarify data on revenue

Director General of Tax Ken Dwijugiasteadi gave an assurance on Wednesday that he would summon Google representatives to confirm data that it submitted regarding the companys revenue in Indonesia.

“I have the data, so I will ask for their confirmation on whether the figures that they submitted are accurate,” said Dwijugiasteadi.

He did not mention when the summons would be made, but the agenda for the meeting has been decided due to Googles history of tax avoidance. The authorities have requested for a copy of electronic data relating to revenues from advertisements.

He also hoped that Google will respond to the summons so the process of paying income tax on their revenues, which had already been significantly delayed, can be completed quickly.

Dwijugiasteadi said that every company that operate and collect revenues in Indonesia are obliged to meet their tax obligations and contribute appropriately by paying the correct taxes to the state.

“Regulations must be met and my job is to enforce them accordingly. I do not threaten or use force,” he added.

The head of the Jakarta regional office of the Directorate General of Tax, Muhammad Haniv, said that Google has yet to submit additional financial reports that they requested regarding revenue collected in Indonesia.

“We cannot fully trust their statements as we are still waiting for further supporting documents. Their income from sources such as pay per click and other applications are yet to be accounted for,” he added.

He further questioned Googles reluctance to be listed as a permanent company in Indonesia as the company is already operating many of its servers in the country.

“They already have servers in Indonesia. That is the physical evidence. Being permanently established requires a physical presence,” said Haniv.

According to the Directorate General of Tax, Google was registered as a legal entity in Indonesia at Tanah Abang Tax Office III in Central Jakarta as a foreign investment company in September 15, 2011 as subsidiary of Google Asia Pacific in Singapore.

Based on Indonesian income tax law, Google must be declared as a permanent company and all its revenue or income within Indonesia must be taxed.

However, Google has rejected further tax inspections from the authorities and it will not take the status of a permanent company, despite its revenue being in the trillions with the majority coming from advertisements.