Do you like reading comics? Try mentioning the titles of any comics you’ve read! There must have been many titles, ranging from comics with superhero themes, comedy, romance, or even horror comics. Because in this day and age, comics have become a medium of entertainment that is awaited by various circles. Its presence is not limited to print media, many comics have been uploaded on various digital comic platforms and on social media.
Nowadays, comics are not only used as a mere entertainment medium, but also as a medium to convey information. As was done by the Directorate of Public Relations of the DGT in an effort to expand tax education, comics media were chosen as one of the means of delivering tax information. Packaged in the form of a comic strip, a comic consisting of only a few panels (usually four panels), this tax-themed comic is uploaded to DGT’s official social media accounts.
The presence of comic strip content on DGT’s official social media accounts is widely welcomed by the public. The readers of this comic strip are quite enthusiastic, as shown by the large number of likes and comments on DGT’s official Instagram which can reach up to 7000 likes and 400 comments on one upload. With so many readers of this tax comic strip, it is hoped that public knowledge and concern about taxation can increase.
What makes this taxation comic even more unique is the comic artists, as people who draw comics are called. All comics uploaded by DGT’s official social media accounts are the work of DGT employees themselves. Of the approximately 44 thousand DGT employees spread across the archipelago, the Directorate of Public Relations of DGT was able to find several employees who have interests and talents in the comic world.
Starting from a workshop on comics and motion graphics held by the Directorate of Public Relations P2 DGT in early 2019 in Yogyakarta, the author became one of the lucky employees who successfully participated in the workshop. The reason is to be able to take part in the workshop, prospective participants are required to make a comic strip with a predetermined taxation theme. From the dozens of comics submitted, fifteen comics created by DGT employees from various cities in Indonesia were selected.
In the workshop some tips and tricks for making comic strips are explained. One of the most memorable by the author is about riding the wave. A tip in making comic stories based on actual events that are happening or viral and then inserted with related tax information.
For example, in one of the comic strips that the author has created and uploaded on the DGT’s official social media in August 2019, the author takes the theme based on the story of Community Service Program in Desa Penari, a horror story. which had gone viral.
In the first panel, a dark forest is depicted, and the main character is a KKN student being ridden by an ojek driver. This atmosphere is described in accordance with the viral story of KKN in the Dancer Village. This is important so that readers understand that the story references used are familiar, thus increasing interest in reading. Then the tax information that will be included is about the benefits of tax money for village development. However, of course the information is not directly written on the first panel. This first panel serves as an opening, where the main character appears to be opening a conversation with a motorcycle taxi driver and has the opinion that the village road is good, so that their journey to the KKN village can be smooth.
Then in the second panel, it contains tax information that will be submitted. This time the main character reveals the fact that around 50 trillion rupiah of tax money paid by taxpayers is budgeted for village development. This simple tax information is expected to be able to increase public awareness that the tax money they pay is beneficial for the development of the country, especially in this case is village development.
The third and fourth panels are strengthening the nuances of horror according to the KKN story reference in Penari Village, this aims to build interest in this comic so as not to forget the tax information that has been submitted.
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Wrapped with stories based on viral things, it can make readers interested in the tax information presented. In making tax comic strips like this one must pay attention to the balance between the entertainment and information elements. If the element of information conveyed is too much and in detail, it may reduce the interest of the reader to understand the content of the information. On the other hand, if the entertainment element in the comic strip is too highlighted, then the tax information may not be conveyed because the reader is too focused on the entertainment element in the comic strip.
The existence of this comic strip certainly enriches DGT’s creativity in delivering tax education to the public. Hopefully more people will realize the importance of paying taxes through creative media like this.
Sumber https://www.pajak.go.id/id/artikel/kkn-di-desa-penari-selingan-berbobot-yang-menghibur