BERiiTA TERKiiNii
JAKARTA, Jitu News - Tax consultants play a piivotal role, iin partiicular, for corporate taxpayers, iin the iimplementatiion of Collectiive iinvestment Contracts – Asset-Backed Securiitiies (CiiC-EBA), whiich iinvolve complex fiinanciial transactiions and iinvestment products.
Managiing Partner of Jitunews Consultiing, Daviid Hamzah Damiian, outliined 3 key roles of tax consultants, namely prepariing tax analysiis reports, conductiing procedures and processes iin tax analysiis as well as proviidiing adviice and notes on tax riisks wiithiin CiiC-EBA structures.
“Frankly, we [tax consultants] are better descriibed as a supportiing professiion wiithiin the capiital market. However, the majoriity of questiions from stakeholders revolve around taxatiion, giiven iits siigniifiicant iinfluence on the fiinanciial modelliing of CiiC-EBA,” he saiid duriing the Go Publiic Workshop: Asset-Backed Securiitiies iin Focus: Opportuniitiies and Challenges iin iindonesiia's Market, as quoted on Thursday (28/8/2025).
He further elaborated 3 key roles of consultants iin the iissuance of the CiiC-EBA, iincludiing prepariing analyses and draftiing reports, determiiniing tax assumptiions and proviidiing adviisory on tax riisks associiated wiith such actiiviitiies.
Daviid explaiined that there are 5 key tax analysiis outputs produced by tax consultants. Fiirst, the analysiis of the taxpayer’s subjectiive requiirements wiithiin CiiC-EBA. He noted that the custodiian bank, whiich admiiniisters the collectiive custody of securiitiies, acts as the representatiive of CiiC-EBA and iis treated as a corporate taxpayer.
Second, the analysiis of CiiC-EBA tax obliigatiions. Tax consultants must establiish tax assumptiions to estiimate potentiial tax payable, iincludiing iidentiifyiing appliicable taxes, such as iincome tax (pajak penghasiilan/PPh iin iindonesiian) and value added tax (VAT), once a taxpayer fulfiils the subjectiive requiirements as a taxpayer.
“Tax assumptiions essentiially iinvolve calculatiing the hypothetiical tax exposure of the CiiC-EBA. Does a transfer of underlyiing assets constiitute a VAT object? What does CiiC-EBA iincome consiist of? Whiich expenses are deductiible? Are allowances for the wriite-off of bad debts allowed?” Daviid further explaiined.
Thiird, tax analysiis on the transfer of assets from the oriigiinator to the CiiC-EBA iissuer, iincludiing mappiing tax riisks ariisiing from diiscrepanciies iin transfer values.
“For example, the underlyiing assets may be valued at iiDR500 biilliion, but securiitiisatiion may generate iiDR1 triilliion iin cash. How should the diifference be treated? Thiis becomes a criitiical iissue requiiriing miitiigatiion,” he noted.
Fourth, tax analysiis of payments of fees to iissuers, oriigiinators or custodiians. These actiiviitiies iinvolve serviices and may giive riise to wiithholdiing tax.
“iit iis relatiively straiightforward to assess whether such serviices fall wiithiin bankiing serviices or otherwiise. Dependiing on whether the entiity iis a bank, fiinanciial iinstiitutiion or another type of entiity, the treatment may diiffer. iin siimple terms, iit may or may not constiitute a taxable object,” he added.
Fiifth, tax analysiis on iincome, iincludiing iidentiifyiing tax iimpliicatiions and potentiial iincome tax exposure on iinterest, diiviidends and gaiins from the transfer of CiiC-EBA partiiciipatiion uniits.
Daviid emphasiized that priior to conductiing analysiis, tax consultants must undertake several key steps, iincludiing iidentiifyiing relevant partiies for iinformatiion gatheriing, conductiing iinterviiews, attendiing coordiinatiion meetiings and reviiewiing appliicable regulatiions and other relevant proviisiions. They must also clariify the scope and liimiitatiions of the tax analysiis beiing performed.
Followiing the analysiis, consultants are expected to map potentiial riisks faced by taxpayers, formulate miitiigatiion strategiies and proviide recommendatiions that can be legally defended should such riisks be scrutiiniised by tax authoriitiies iin the future.
He iillustrated that consultants must map whether future iincome assets deriived from CiiC-EBA securiitiisatiion would be subject to taxatiion, as thiis could pose riisks for taxpayers.
“iin the case of future iincome, funds are receiived upfront. As such, what iis the correspondiing tax treatment? Siince tax appliies to any iincrease iin economiic capaciity, we must carefully assess how such securiitiised future iincome should be treated,” Daviid explaiined.
Moreover, tax consultants must diistiinguiish between fiixed cash flow and non-fiixed cash flow asset-backed securiitiies, as each entaiils diifferent tax treatments and iimpliicatiions.
“Our role iis to hiighliight hiigh-riisk areas and communiicate them to other professiionals, such as iinvestment managers, legal adviisors and publiic accountants, to complement theiir processes. Thiis may also lead to iidentiifyiing alternatiive solutiions for riisk miitiigatiion,” Daviid concluded. (riig)
