BPS Assures Economic Census Data Secure and Not for Tax Purposes

The Head of the West Jakarta Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Muhammad Noval, has assured that data collected during the 2026 Economic Census is secure and will not be used for tax purposes. Noval stressed that the data collection aims solely to map the economic conditions and potential of the community. “Our data collection has absolutely nothing to do with taxes. That is why, whenever we conduct any data collection, we always convey that this data collection has nothing to do with taxes,” Noval said when confirmed in Jakarta on Monday. This statement was made following public concerns linking the data collection to taxation after narratives circulated on social media. He stated that the Economic Census is conducted to understand the economic structure developing in society, including types of businesses and employment sectors over recent years. He emphasised that BPS has no connection whatsoever with the Directorate General of Taxes in this data collection process. “We purely want to know what the economic potential is like, what the structure or business fields developing in the community are like, which business fields are dominant, and which sectors have the most jobs,” he said. Furthermore, Noval also guaranteed the security of public data collected during the process. According to him, data protection is guaranteed through Law Number 16 of 1997 on Statistics and other applicable regulations. To maintain data security, BPS also cooperates with the National Cyber and Crypto Agency (BSSN) to secure the system and storage of public data. “At BPS itself, of course, we are not alone in handling data. One of them, for example, is BSSN, which also works together with BPS to secure the data,” said Noval. All census officers are also equipped with integrity so as not to disseminate public data obtained during the data collection. According to Noval, the digital data collection system currently used is also designed so that data is directly stored on the BPS server and not on the officers’ devices. “Now, data collection, for example via mobile phones or applications, the data goes directly to the BPS server. So officers cannot see it either because the data is on the BPS server,” he said. After the data collection process, he said, the application used by officers will also be deleted through an official procedure so that no data remains on the device. The public therefore need not worry about their personal data being spread. In the field, a number of 2026 Economic Census officers in the West Jakarta area admitted to often being rejected by residents who suspected them of being fraudsters or tax collectors under the guise of economic data collection. This was revealed by Ahmad Munajat (43), a field inspection officer in the Srengseng area, Kembangan, West Jakarta. According to Munajat, the lack of public trust is the biggest challenge during the data collection process. “The challenge is that they are very suspicious when our colleagues arrive, especially when asked about economic matters, that is sensitive too, right,” Munajat said during the Economic Census in Srengseng on Friday. Munajat revealed that the most common rejections came from MSMEs who feared their businesses would be subject to higher taxes after being recorded. He said that widespread hoaxes on social media have worsened residents’ fears regarding the implementation of the Economic Census. Nevertheless, Munajat said he continues to try to take a persuasive approach with residents. In fact, he said, he had to visit a business premises up to four times before the owner was willing to be recorded. “There were even some that took three to four visits, and it turned out they were just misunderstanding,” said Munajat.