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 due to a new regulation, a tariff issue, a post by a public figure, or a video clip lasting less than a minute that provokes thousands of comments. Within hours, the comment section is filled with various opinions. Some are angry, some are confused, and others jump to conclusions without seeking a complete explanation. In reality, tax is present in our lives every day. It is just that its presence rarely feels ‘interesting’ enough to become a topic of conversation. We use the same roads every morning. We enjoy street lighting when returning home late at night. We visit government health facilities. We send our younger siblings or children to state schools. All of this runs so ordinarily that we often cease to notice it. What grabs attention instead are phrases like ‘rate hike’, ‘new regulation’, or ‘this tax will be imposed’. That is when social media algorithms start working. Snippets of information spread faster than full explanations. Headlines that provoke emotion are shared more easily than articles providing complete context. This phenomenon is not unique to taxation issues. Almost all public policies experience the same thing. Information that triggers shock captures attention more easily 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 unique character. The more it invites a reaction, the greater the chance content will appear on many people’s feeds. In this situation, discussions about tax often turn into narrative fragments that lose their context. One person sees a post. Another only reads the headline. Yet another only watches a short video without knowing the regulatory background. A few hours later, public opinion has already formed, even though not all the information has been fully understood. On the other hand, we must also acknowledge that tax literacy among the Indonesian public is still developing. Many people only become familiar with tax terms when they start working, receive their first payslip, open a business, or are required to file a tax return. Before that, tax feels like something distant from daily life. When understanding is limited, that empty space is easily filled by assumptions, fragments of information, and even misinformation. It is not surprising that an incomplete post can be believed more quickly than a longer explanation. In the digital era, the challenge is no longer just providing information, but ensuring that information is easy to understand. The public is now accustomed to receiving explanations in the form of short videos, infographics, or simple content. Overly technical language often causes people to stop reading before they truly grasp the meaning. Therefore, communication about taxation also needs to evolve to match how people consume information. Clear, simple, and easily accessible education will help reduce the misunderstandings that often arise when an issue goes viral. However, the responsibility does not lie solely with the government or the media. As social media users, we also have a role in not rushing to conclusions. Reading information from complete sources, checking the context, and giving ourselves space to understand before sharing a post is a form of digital literacy that is just as important as tax literacy itself. Ultimately, the problem may not be that tax is always synonymous with bad news. It could be that our attention is simply more easily drawn to things that trigger emotion than to things that function well every day. Tax never truly goes ‘viral’ when millions of people fulfil their obligations without issue. It does not become trending when public services run as they should. It does not fill the timeline when tax administration proceeds smoothly. What becomes news is the exception. Perhaps it is time we get to know tax not only through controversies that pass by on our phone screens, but also through a more complete understanding. Because amidst the swift currents of digital information, the ability to distinguish between a news snippet and the full picture becomes just as important as understanding the rules themselves. In the end, the issue of tax is not merely about numbers and regulations. It is also about how information is understood, discussed, and trusted by the public.