Allegations of abuse of office surfaced and increasingly became a wild ball in the midst of society. Increasingly, this condition has even begun to lead to distrust of the tax authorities in Indonesia.
Campaigns to stop paying taxes and stop reporting tax returns (SPT) have started to bloom and have been echoed by many unscrupulous members of the public. The question that arises, what happens if people no longer want to pay taxes? Is it wise to refuse to pay taxes? What is the tax money actually used for? Is it to enrich the tax officials?
First, it’s no longer a secret that so far the Indonesian state has depended heavily on taxes as the main source of state revenue. Law Number 28 of 2022 concerning the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget for the 2023 Fiscal Year has been stipulated. State revenue has been pegged at IDR 2,463 trillion. Of this state revenue, IDR 2,021 trillion or 82% is tax revenue.
Imagine if many people do not want to pay taxes. The tax revenue plan has the potential to not be achieved. As a result, the state cannot finance the expenses made. If forced, increasing the state debt may become something that you don’t want to do.
What are the state expenditures that could be affected? The state budget focuses on improving the quality of human resources, accelerating infrastructure development to support economic transformation, strengthening the effectiveness of implementing bureaucratic reforms and simplifying regulations, and encouraging the development and development of a green economy.
The largest portion of the focus of state spending is on the education sector, followed by social protection, infrastructure development, energy security, health and food. Reduced state revenue means that development in these sectors is not optimally implemented.
The government has budgeted IDR 612.2 trillion for the education sector. This amount includes education subsidies, scholarships for high achieving and disadvantaged people, and other assistance in the education sector. Then, the government allocated funds of IDR 476 trillion for social assistance, subsidies for the community, and other social protection.
The government is also intensively carrying out infrastructure development. Toll roads, bridges, highways and other infrastructure are prepared to be enjoyed by the community. For this, the government has allocated IDR 392.1 trillion. Not to mention for health, the government has allocated IDR 178.7 trillion for health assistance and other health expenditures.
Other sectors such as food and energy security also require substantial funds. You can imagine what will happen if people are reluctant to pay taxes. The impact will be very broad and felt by all levels of society.
Second, the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) as the tax authority in Indonesia and also part of the Ministry of Finance has the main task of collecting state revenue. The collection of this state revenue is carried out through tax service and education activities, tax supervision, tax audits, tax collection, and tax law enforcement.
Furthermore, is the money from tax payments managed directly by the DGT? The answer is also no. DGT does not accept tax payments made by taxpayers at all. DGT only regulates procedures and mechanisms for paying, withholding, and collecting taxes. DGT also ensures that the fulfillment of tax obligations by taxpayers is in accordance with applicable regulations. Tax deposit is carried out by taxpayers in banking institutions and post offices as a place of tax payment
Then, is it also DGT that allocates the use of tax money to finance state expenditures? Again the answer is no. Tax money that has been paid by taxpayers and collected in the state treasury will be used and utilized by relevant government agencies and agencies at the central and regional levels. For example, state spending related to education will be managed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology. Spending on social protection is managed by the Ministry of Social Affairs. The Ministry of Health is responsible for managing health spending. Likewise, ministries and other government agencies have their own responsibilities in managing state expenditure related to their field of work.
Thirdly, DGT has long been committed to eradicating corruption. Strict sanctions await employees who commit fraud and abuse of authority. Various systems and mechanisms for enforcing employee discipline have also been implemented.
All forms of integrity violations involving tax officials not only hurt the hearts of the Indonesian people. Even deeper, every violation of integrity breaks the hearts of tens of thousands of DGT employees who have committed to upholding integrity. Before the wider community felt it, tens of thousands of DGT employees had already been injured.