http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/new-top-taxman-after-gayus-mess/418403
New Top Taxman After Gayus Mess Dion Bisara | January 22, 2011 lBapepam chief Ahmad Fuad Rahmani, above, is taking the place of Mochamad Tjiptardjo. (Antara Photo) In a move intended to improve ministry transparency, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo ordered a reshuffle on Friday, pushing top taxman Mochamad Tjiptardjo out the door. He was replaced with Fuad Rahmany, chairman of the Capital Market and Financial Institution Supervisory Agency (Bapepam-LK) since 2006. Tjiptardjo was due to retire in May but had been heavily criticized for his "poor performance" in resolving a number of outstanding tax cases, especially with the scandal involving convicted former tax official Gayus Tambunan happening under his watch. "We have seen progress in tax reform, but reform alone is not enough," Agus said during the inauguration for Fuad and other officials at the Finance Ministry on Friday. Tjiptardjo had only served as head of the notoriously corrupt Directorate General of Taxation for about a year and a half, but speculation had been rife leading up to his replacement that his position there was vulnerable. He has dismissed speculation that his ouster was linked to the Gayus affair, saying only that "it would be better if a new official enters office at the beginning of the year, given such a complicated task facing the tax office." The move comes a day after the director general of immigration was replaced by Bambang Irawan, previously head of the Riau Justice and Human Rights Office, and was given the task of bringing closure to Gayus's illicit overseas trips and fake passport case. It also follows President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's delivery of 12 explicit instructions on Monday to various institutions to bolster the ongoing investigation into the Gayus affair. Among the president's directives was for law enforcers to look into the 151 companies the rogue official was said to have helped cheat on their taxes. In his year-opening cabinet meeting, Yudhoyono cited the tax office as one of the areas where graft was still rampant, while stating that fighting corruption would remain one his government's top priorities this year. However, some government critics are not satisfied with only Tjiptardjo facing the chop. Aziz Syamsuddin, a Golkar Party lawmaker, said on Friday that the investigation into Gayus's case must follow up every name mentioned by the convict during his trial, including Bank Indonesia Governor Darmin Nasution, who was tax chief when Gayus was allegedly helping dozens of firms evade their tax obligations. Aziz called on the president to suspend Darmin from his position as central bank governor for the sake of the investigation. The other movements within the Finance Ministry on Friday saw Nurhaida, a specialist staff member at Bapepam, take Fuad's place. New faces also included Bambang Permadi Soemantri Brodjonegoro, an economist from University of Indonesia, as deputy finance minister in charge of fiscal policy. The post had been held ad interim by Agus Supriyanto, who took the position after Anggito Abimanyu stepped down in May. Anggito was officially named deputy finance minister by Yudhoyono in 2009, but was never inaugurated. Instead he was overtaken by Anny Ratnawati, leading to his resignation. Agus Supriyanto will take the post as director general of treasury, replacing Heri Purnomo, who will be shifted to fill the top spot at the directorate general for the budget, a post that had been held by Anny. Additional reporting by Anita Rachman [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
