DDTC Again Dubbed Pro Bono Firm of the Year Asia-Pacific Level

LONDON, DDTCNews - DDTC has recurrently won an international tax award. The award in question refers to the Pro Bono Firm of the Year from the International Tax Review (ITR) at the 2024 Asia-Pacific Tax Awards.

Attending on behalf of the Founders of DDTC Darussalam and Danny Septriadi, DDTC Consulting Managing Partner David Hamzah Damian received the award in person on the peak night of the ITR Asia- Pacific Tax Awards 2024 held at the Leonardo Royal Hotel Tower Bridge in London, UK, Wednesday (18/9/2024).

This marks DDTC's second accomplishment. The same award was conferred to DDTC in 2022.

The Pro Bono of the Year award epitomises international recognition of DDTC’s active role in encouraging inclusive tax education and a more advanced tax system for all levels of society.

Handing over the award, the ITR Editor at Legal Benchmarking Group Editor Thomas Baker revealed that DDTC's victory in the Pro Bono Firm of the Year award was founded on the company's steadfast commitment to maximising the role of the profession in taxation for the public at large.

“By contributing to an ideal tax system and eliminating information asymmetry in the tax society,” remarked Baker.

The founder of DDTC Darussalam elaborates that all company activities are grounded in the reality of the non-existence of tax society, relatively low tax compliance and awareness, the limited range of tax basis and the lack of tax experts.

On account of consistency with this background, most of the profits from clients for professional services are returned to the public and stakeholders in the tax sector, in particular, Indonesia.

"We are firm believers that only a never-ending cycle at the commercial aspect will, in turn, establish a better tax ecosystem as the tax consultant profession is noble or honourable (officium nobile))," he reiterated, Wednesday (18/9/2024).

Darussalam explained that the concept of officium nobile is centered around the assumption that in essence not only should a profession be profit-oriented, but also should focus on how to contribute or dedicate its expertise for taxation purposes.

Therefore, DDTC assumes professional responsibilities to the tax community. A vast array of products, services or activities give prominence to fulfilling these responsibilities.

In line with Darussalam, Danny Septriadi affirms that there is more to pro bono than mere Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities or free-of-charge provision of professional services. For DDTC, pro bono is the tangible embodiment of the adherence to the company's vision and pursuit of its mission.

“Without taking into account the profits and losses of these various activities,” claims Danny.

DDTC, adds Danny, upholds a vision as a research, technology and knowledge-based tax institution that sets the standards and beyond. To consistently live out this vision, DDTC has incorporated a number of units that support one another and cater to the needs of stakeholders.

In parallel, David Hamzah Damian, who attended the ITR APAC Tax Awards 2024 award night, claims that the Pro Bono Firm of the Year award is earned through an extensive journey. This award is the satisfactory outcome of the company’s 17-year endeavours in participating in the national and international tax landscape, in particular, in disseminating tax education.

This victory, David continues, is crucial for DDTC as a member of the tax community, aiming to strike a balance between protecting taxpayers’ rights and ensuring legal certainty for the state in imposing taxes.

“Even in the paid tax services we render, we uphold a pro bono in that we set the standards and beyond for the greater good of the tax community,' David stated after receiving the award."

DDTC’s Activities

The founder of DDTC Darussalam remarks that at least three groups of DDTC’s activities are significantly correlated to pro bono, including tax knowledge sharing, scholarships and sponsorships and fostering positive relationships with the educational (academic) environment. All of these are concentrated on establishing a more advanced tax system.

“It is virtually unfeasible for tax authorities to go solo in the effort to establish an ideal tax system," Darussalam claims.

Tax knowledge-sharing activities are grounded in the commitment to consistently improving tax literacy, strengthening tax education, establishing a tax society and encouraging tax compliance. Publication is the means used by DDTC.

In the 17 years since DDTC’s incorporation, Darussalam continues, 26 books have been published. Moreover, DDTC contributes to various national and international publications. In addition, DDTC has publishes Inside Tax magazine, Indonesia Taxation Quarterly Report publication, newsletters and working paper.

Endowed with a research culture, adds Darussalam, DDTC is highly active in responding to tax issues by writing opinions and serving as speakers in various mass media. Additionally, DDTC actively collaborates in research, public lectures, training and seminars on taxation.

DDTC also has a tax library containing over 4,000 collections of books, journals and other publications. Darussalam claims 90% of the DDTC Library’s collection is an international publication. In addition, DDTC provides a news portal that may be accessed by the public for free.

Furthermore, the provision of scholarships and sponsorships is motivated by the need for quality human resources (HR) in the field of taxation. The availability of skilled human resources, according to him, is a prerequisite for a balanced tax system. Moreover, the tax landscape is developing very dynamically.

“DDTC’s professionals are, thus, advocated to be constantly engaged in continuous learning and without a doubt share their newly acquired knowledge with the community,” elaborates Darussalam.

DDTC strives to consistently grant scholarships to DDTC’s professionals through the Human Resources Development Programme (HRDP). In addition to formal education overseas, DDTC’s professionals also have access to free training and certification.

For external parties, DDTC continues to consistently provide scholarships to students and lecturers. In addition, DDTC is also an active sponsor in various taxation activities that aim to educate and share knowledge.

The provision of scholarships and sponsorships, adds Darussalam, constitutes part of DDTC's involvement in the educational environment. He remarks that to date, DDTC has entered into educational cooperation with 38 universities in Indonesia.

DDTC and universities seek to conduct joint research, formulate tax education curriculum designs and increase the teachers’ capacity. DDTC also organises internships to render first-hand experience with practitioners for students.

“We also view the victory for this award at the Asia-Pacific level to encourage us to continue to contribute. We would like to thank all parties that have collaborated for the common goal of inclusive tax education,” states Darussalam.

As a point of interest, ITR is a global news and analysis service provider that delivers practical information on three main areas, including direct tax, indirect tax and transfer pricing.

This award is the result of the ranking conducted by ITR. On account of independent research and coverage of the world’s leading tax firms and practitioners, ITR seeks to accurately compare tax firms and practitioners with their peers.

In addition to winning the Pro bono Firm of the Year, DDTC has also been dubbed the Tax Dispute Firm of the Year for the Indonesia region In total, DDTC is listed as a nominee in twelve other categories in the ITR Asia-Pacific Tax Awards 2024. Of the twelve categories, DDTC was included in five Regional Award categories at the Asia Pacific level.

In addition, of the twelve categories, four are in the Individual Award category. For the Individual Award category, the Founder of DDTC Darussalam was nominated for the Tax Practice Leader of the Year. (sap)