Jember's Regional Revenue Increases 36 Percent Without Tax Hikes

The Jember Regency government has recorded a milestone with the highest Regional Original Revenue (PAD) in the Tapal Kuda region for 2025. Jember’s PAD has risen by 36 percent, without burdening residents with increases in tax or levy rates.

Regent of Jember, Gus Fawait, emphasised that the primary strategy behind this success is not adding financial burdens to the public. Instead, it involves radical improvements to internal systems.

“We have proven that to boost regional revenue, we do not need to collect an extra rupiah in taxes from the people. The key lies in optimising potentials that have previously been untapped and closing leakage gaps in transactions through digitalisation,” said Gus Fawait during a cross-sectoral coordination event as part of the Desa Bunga programme in Mumbulsari, on Monday-Tuesday, 7-8 April 2026.

This strategic step has received full support from Bank Indonesia (BI) Jember. The Head of BI Jember Representative, Iqbal Reza Nugraha, assessed that efficiency in digital payment systems through the Regional Digitalisation Acceleration and Expansion Team (TP2DD) has proven to accelerate the inflow of PAD in a transparent manner.

This digitalisation not only targets the tax sector but has also been expanded to tourism, health services, and MSMEs. It creates a more accessible financial ecosystem for the public while minimising the risk of regional revenue loss due to outdated manual systems.

In addition to fiscal success, Gus Fawait stated that the Jember Regency Government is also targeting a reduction in the poverty rate to below 200,000 people by 2026. Gus Fawait explained that the increased PAD will be returned to the community in the form of inclusive regional spending.

With stable economic performance and progressive PAD management without raising tax burdens, Jember is optimistic about continuing to lead economic acceleration in the eastern part of East Java.