Taxes and Rain in November

Nothin’ lasts forever

And we both know hearts can change

And it’s hard to hold a candle

In the cold November rain

That’s more or less a lyric from one of the legendary music groups from the United States, Guns n Roses. The song, which was released in 1991, tells the story of a sense of loss and heartbreak in the cold rain in November. Entering the month of November or the rainy season every year, “November Rain” will usually become a mandatory song in the list of music played by radio and other music broadcasting services in Indonesia.

In Indonesia, the rainy season usually occurs in October and November until it changes again in April. The rainy season in Indonesia can have a positive impact on life. Plants seem to smile because the soil becomes fresher and more fertile.

Especially in some areas that usually experience drought and it is difficult to get a water supply because in the rainy season these areas can have abundant water stocks. Some people think that rain is a blessing.

However, sometimes the rainy season can also make pain like the lyrics of the song above. Rain can hinder people’s mobility. People are reluctant to leave their homes. Flu, coughs, and colds began to undermine health due to low temperatures in the rainy season. Not to mention the storm that may occur at any time.

In a more severe phase, due to the unmaintained natural balance starting from narrower water catchment areas and deforestation for human needs, heavy rainfall can lead to more fatal disasters such as floods and landslides. Floods and landslides appear like mushrooms in the rainy season. As has happened recently in various regions in Indonesia.

Then what is the role of taxes in dealing with “November Rain”?

The Role of Taxes Through Budget Policy

As explained earlier, the rainy season can have both positive and negative impacts. We cannot avoid the rainy season or just stop it. The most important thing is how we maximize the benefits or positive impacts and anticipate the risks or negative impacts caused by the rainy season.

As individuals, we can maintain the balance of nature by maintaining water catchment areas, reducing land conversion and reforestation, and not littering. This will help normalize waterlogging that occurs during the rainy season to prevent flooding and landslides.

In addition, the government as a state administrator also plays a role in dealing with the rainy season. The government’s policy in organizing the state every year in a structured manner is reflected in the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN).

In the APBN, all of the revenue and expenditure budgets carried out by the government are described in order to meet the needs of the state, including in the context of dealing with the rainy season, maximizing the benefits, and anticipating the risks that may arise.

Tax itself has a crucial role in budget policy, namely being the backbone of state revenue as revenue which will then be used by the government to carry out state expenditures. Every year, more than 70% of state revenue comes from tax revenues.

One of the strategic policies taken by the government in the era of President Jokowi was the acceleration of infrastructure development. The infrastructure development budget is recorded to have a large portion of spending in the APBN.

In 2021, the infrastructure spending budget will reach IDR 417.4 trillion. Of course, the budget will not be realized if tax revenue is not achieved. Therefore, taxes indirectly have a very large role in the development of existing infrastructure.

In the face of the rainy season, the construction of dam or dam infrastructure is an alternative choice. The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing of the Republic of Indonesia defines a dam as a building in the form of soil, stone, concrete, or masonry that is built in addition to holding and storing water, it can also be built to accommodate mining waste or mud.

In general, dams have many benefits, including as a water reservoir during the rainy season, a source of irrigation water, a power plant to a recreation area.

President Jokowi himself said that he had built dozens of dams throughout Indonesia. “There are 65 dams throughout the country that we started building six years ago and some have already been inaugurated,” Jokowi said at an inauguration ceremony for the dam project earlier this year.

The hope is of course that by increasing the number of dams, excess water in the rainy season can be accommodated and then used for various things, such as irrigating rice fields through irrigation channels. In addition, the dam also allows the government to use water as an environmentally friendly hydroelectric power plant (PLTA).

Equally important, the construction of dam infrastructure is also used for flood control. Dams function to reduce the flow of water flowing into an area. The goal is that the possibility of flooding in the area can be anticipated as early as possible.

Like the Dry Dams in Ciawi and Sukamahi, the dry dams were the first to be built in Indonesia. These two dams are not for irrigation or raw water purposes, but to increase flood control capacity.

This dam is designed to reduce the flood discharge that enters Jakarta by blocking the flow of water from Mount Gede and Mount Pangrango before reaching the Katulampa Dam which then flows into the Ciliwung River.

The completion of the Ciawi Dam construction will reduce flooding by 111.75 cubic meters per second. With the construction of the Ciawi and Sukamahi Dams, it is also claimed to reduce the flood discharge at the Manggarai Sluice by 577.05 cubic meters per second.

The Role of Taxes Through Daily Activities

There is something interesting about the development of taxation conditions in Indonesia. Even though the revenue target and taxpayers are increasing every year, the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu) including the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) has actually begun to implement a negative-growth human resource policy.

Negative-growth means that the Ministry of Finance including the DGT will not increase the number of employees in the next five years. This is part of the Ministry of Finance’s Human Resources (HR) reform.

The policy is contained in the Minister of Finance Regulation Number 77/PMK.01/2020 concerning the Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Finance for the Year 2020-2024. It is targeted that there will be at least 800 to 1800 employee reductions per year in the next five years.

The negative-growth policy is consistently expected to make the Ministry of Finance including the DGT more streamlined and efficient in carrying out its business processes. Utilization of existing information technology will be the key to the success of this policy.

Currently, with the use of existing technology and information, all tax obligations can be resolved without having to visit the tax service office (KPP). In terms of registration, prospective taxpayers only need to visit the tax.go.id site. Likewise in terms of payment and tax reporting, including other applications.

In terms of tax consultation, now all KPPs in Indonesia have provided online consulting services, including through various social media that can be utilized by taxpayers.

With these various business process developments, paper forms are almost no longer needed. Taxpayer applications in paper form began to decrease. In addition, communication between agencies at the Ministry of Finance currently uses the Electronic Service Manuscript or familiarly called Nadine. Nadine can save the budget by reducing the use of paper and courier delivery services.

These various habits are certainly very environmentally friendly and if carried out on a large scale can help maintain the balance of nature. As we know, paper is sourced from processed wood which is done by cutting down trees so that the massive use of paper is one of the causes of natural disasters such as floods and landslides.

If the habits, activities, and business processes based on technology and information as currently developed by the Ministry of Finance can be used as examples by agencies and offices in Indonesia. It is not impossible that the bureaucracy in Indonesia can run without using paper. Thus, deforestation for paper use can be stopped, the balance of nature can be maintained, floods and landslides can be avoided.