Tax Never Goes Viral for Ordinary Things
“Have you ever noticed? Tax almost always appears on your timeline when it is being hotly debated.”
Whether because of a new regulation, a tariff issue, a post by a public figure, or a video clip of less than a minute that provokes thousands of comments. Within hours, the comment columns fill with all kinds of opinions. Some are angry, some are confused, and some jump to conclusions without bothering to seek a complete explanation.
Yet, if you think about it, tax is present in our lives every day. Its presence is simply rarely exciting enough to become a talking point. We use the same roads every morning. We enjoy street lighting on our way home at night. We seek treatment at government health facilities. We send our younger siblings or children to state schools. All of this runs so ordinarily that we often no longer notice it.
What draws attention instead are phrases such as “tariffs rising”, “new rules”, or “this tax will be imposed”. That is when the social media algorithms spring into action. Fragments of information spread faster than full explanations. Emotionally provocative headlines are shared more readily than articles that provide complete context.
This phenomenon is not unique to taxation. Almost all public policy experiences the same thing. Information that triggers surprise attracts more attention than information explaining the process or benefits behind a policy. As a result, public perception of tax is often shaped by moments when the issue is trending, rather than by everyday experiences that are actually very close to our lives.
Social media has a peculiar character. The more a piece of content provokes reactions, the greater the chance it appears on many people’s homepages. In situations like this, discussion of tax often turns into snippets of narrative stripped of context. One person sees a single post. Another reads only the headline. Yet another watches a short video without knowing the regulatory background. A few hours later, public opinion has formed, even though not all the information has been fully understood.
At the same time, we must also acknowledge that tax literacy among Indonesians is still developing. Many people only encounter tax terminology when they start working, receive their first payslip, open a business, or are required to file an annual tax return. Before that, tax feels like something far removed from daily life.
When understanding is still limited, that empty space is easily filled by assumptions, fragments of information, and even misinformation. It is no surprise that an incomplete post can be believed more quickly than a longer explanation. In the digital era, the challenge is no longer merely providing information, but ensuring that information is easy to understand. People are now accustomed to receiving explanations through short videos, infographics, or simple content. Overly technical language often makes people stop reading before they truly grasp the message.
For that reason, communication about taxation also needs to keep evolving in line with how people consume information. Clear, simple and accessible education will help reduce the misunderstandings that frequently arise when an issue goes viral. However, the responsibility does not rest solely with the government or the media. As social media users, we too have a role in not rushing to conclusions. Reading information from complete sources, checking the context, and allowing time for understanding before sharing a post are all forms of digital literacy that are just as important as tax literacy itself.
In the end, perhaps the problem is not that tax is always associated with bad news. It may simply be that our attention is more easily drawn to things that provoke emotion than to things that run well every day. Tax never truly goes viral when millions of people file their obligations without a hitch. It does not trend when public services run as they should. It does not fill timelines when tax administration proceeds smoothly.
What makes the news is the exception.
Perhaps it is time we came to know tax not only through controversies that scroll across our phone screens, but also through a more complete understanding. For, amid the torrent of digital information, the ability to distinguish between a news fragment and a complete picture is just as important as understanding the rules themselves.
Because ultimately, tax issues are not merely about numbers and regulations. They are also about how information is understood, discussed, and trusted by society.