Smart people (don’t) pay tax
Smart people (corrupt) tax
Smart people (collude to avoid) tax
Smart people (do shady deals) tax
Smart people (embezzle) tax...

Kid: So only stupid people pay tax, right Dad? What says the world!

Chazizah Gusnita, Jakarta – Thirty-four years after the Malari affair – short for The January 15 Disaster – a student actions opposing foreign capital, particularly Japanese capital on January 15, 2974, demands for the foreign debt to be written off are now being articulated again.

Jakarta – As much as 60-70 percent of the 2007 state budget (APBN) or between 457-534 trillion rupiah was depleted for the bureaucratic costs of the government, legislator and law enforcement agencies. The total state budget for 2007 was 763 trillion rupiah.

Jakarta – The weapon systems belonging to the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) is a cause for concern. Compared with the systems belonging to the armed forces in other South-East Asian countries the TNI’s is among the worst, only ahead of Cambodia and Laos.

Pekanbaru-RoL – The Minister of Forestry, H. MS Kaban, says that level of illegal logging in Indonesia is resulting in financial losses to the state amounting to 60 trillion rupiah per year

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – The TNI (armed forces) says that it will give up its military business provided that its funding through the state budget is realised. This is because soldiers are educated to fight not conduct business.

Eworaswa, Jakarta – Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) are questioning plans by the defense minister to increase the defense budget by 5.59 per cent (26 trillion rupiah).