The State Collects, the People Bear the Burden
Imagine a small eatery owner in Bekasi who must pay between Rp 50,000 and Rp 150,000 to someone on social media just to file their tax return.
This is not because they are unwilling to comply. Not because they lack an NPWP. But because the system that should make it easier for them is one they cannot use on their own.
In other countries, such a story might sound odd. In Indonesia, from 2025 until today, this is still happening.
Even the Finance Minister has acknowledged it: ‘It turns out the design is somewhat flawed.’
The Core Tax Administration System was launched on 1 January 2025 with noble promises: modernising tax administration, easing access to services, and encouraging voluntary compliance.
More than a year later, those promises have been partially fulfilled. But there is a price to pay, and that price is not recorded in any state financial report.
Those bearing it are millions of ordinary taxpayers who are the most earnest in trying to comply.
The formal compliance figures are not disappointing. As of 30 April 2026, the extended reporting deadline—a full month beyond the normal due date—the Directorate General of Taxes (DJP) recorded 13.06 million annual tax returns submitted, equivalent to 85.46 per cent of the 15.27 million target.
Meanwhile, Coretax accounts activated have exceeded 18.99 million. This is not the picture of taxpayers reluctant to comply.
However, behind those figures lies an irony that needs to be discussed honestly.
The DJP was forced to extend the reporting deadline and waive administrative penalties.
And most starkly: the Finance Minister herself has admitted that the system’s design has weaknesses that make it difficult for users, a rare admission from any fiscal authority.
The issue, once again, is not with the taxpayers’ willingness. Data on 18.99 million account activations proves that.
Rather, it is about how easily that obligation can actually be fulfilled and how much cost someone must bear just to try to meet it.
This is where a deeper problem emerges. There are three layers of costs borne by taxpayers in fulfilling their tax obligations: direct costs in the form of money spent, time costs sacrificed, and psychological costs in the form of mental stress from dealing with an unfriendly system.
Coretax was designed to reduce all three layers of these costs. In reality, in the first year of implementation, all three have instead surged for millions of ordinary taxpayers.
Money for hiring joki services. Time wasted trying a glitchy system, queuing at the tax office, or calling the Kring Pajak for hours.