AFP | January 12, 2011
NUSA DUA, Indonesia — The Canadian maker of the popular BlackBerry smartphone hit back Thursday at Indonesian officials’ claims it does not pay taxes or contribute to the Southeast Asian country’s booming economy.
Research in Motion (RIM) Southeast Asia managing director Gregory Wade said he would “like to clarify that it always has and will continue to operate within the laws set by governments around the world, including Indonesia”.
“RIM dutifully pays all applicable taxes that are exercised from its business within the region in the same manner as all other importing manufacturers,” he said at a conference in Bali.
The company was a “significant contributor” to the Indonesian economy and generated “significant profits” for its local partners in the mainly Muslim archipelago of 240 million people, he added.
Communications and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring has led attacks on RIM over its alleged failure to pay taxes, using his Twitter feed to issue regular broadsides against the global power in smartphone technology.
This week he gave RIM an ultimatum to remove pornographic content from its web services for its two million customers in Indonesia within two weeks or lose its operating licence in the rapidly growing market.
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