By Wilson Arafat, Senior Banker
IMAGINE for a moment a small business owner in a regency town. He is ready to file his tax return through the Coretax system. However, his device’s screen frequently freezes, his data isn’t saved, and he’s forced to start the process over from the beginning. On paper, Indonesia has entered the era of digital taxation. In reality, what’s happening on the ground? The fact is: compliance still depends on signal strength and the taxpayer’s patience.
In early 2025, the Directorate General of Taxes (DJP) launched Coretax as an integrated digital tax administration system. Various tax applications are consolidated into a single platform, ranging from taxpayer registration (WP), filing Annual Tax Returns (SPT), to online payments. The objective is clear: to reduce compliance costs, strengthen the revenue base, and narrow the tax gap.
However, the success of Coretax is ultimately determined not only by how sophisticated the application is, but by three more fundamental pillars: equitable infrastructure, data quality, and the readiness of human resources (HR), both within the DGT and among taxpayers. At this point, the high hopes for tax digitalization are put to the test.
Expectations vs. Reality
As of April 2025, the Coretax system has processed more than 198 million tax invoices (DJP, 2025). This figure demonstrates significant technical capacity. However, taxpayer adoption rates remain uneven. As of November 25, 2025, only about 5.74 million taxpayers had activated their Coretax accounts (Antaranews, 2025). The low utilization of key features points to infrastructure gaps, varying levels of digital literacy, and limited access to technology.
If left unaddressed, this risks creating superficial compliance. Although the system is digital, many taxpayers have not fully experienced its benefits, hindering the optimal achievement of the goals of strengthening revenue and reducing the tax gap.
Therefore, there is a need for equitable access to infrastructure, continuous education, and transparency in data management to ensure that tax digitalization truly benefits all segments of the broader public.
Consequently, one of the barriers to implementing Coretax is the disparity in technological infrastructure. In many areas outside major cities, reliable internet access and adequate devices remain expensive, while the ability of SMEs to adapt to digital systems is not uniform.
As a result, tax obligations that should be easier to fulfill actually feel more burdensome because taxpayers must overcome technical barriers. Instead of lowering compliance costs, this disparity actually increases friction in compliance.
Furthermore, to strengthen fiscal oversight, Coretax must provide accurate, timely, and easily accessible data. However, in practice, data quality issues frequently arise. A Reuters report (2025) noted technical glitches in Coretax, ranging from processing errors to system crashes.
This is not merely an operational issue but can hinder tax reporting, trigger disputes, and erode taxpayer trust. Without robust data governance—from data validation and error handling to transparency regarding disruptions—Coretax risks becoming a source of uncertainty.
Another equally important point to understand is that digital transformation is not merely about system updates but also about organizational cultural change. An adaptive culture is a prerequisite for Coretax’s success. Therefore, the DGT must ensure all staff are prepared for a new service model that is proactive, data-driven, and responsive to user experience.
This can be achieved through investment in training, mentoring, and direct feedback from the field. As explained by Ali Umar and Uswatun Hasanah (2024), an adaptive organizational culture is the key to success in implementing digital transformation.
Last but not least, to ensure these changes have an impact, attention must be focused not only on the DGT’s internal readiness but also on taxpayers’ understanding of and trust in the new system. Meanwhile, from the taxpayers’ perspective, the success of Coretax depends heavily on how they view and use the application.
The DGT (2025) notes that only about 65 percent of taxpayers have successfully activated their Coretax accounts, meaning more than a third of taxpayers are not yet fully connected to the digital tax ecosystem. This indicates that education and outreach efforts are incomplete. Taxpayers not only need to understand how to use the application but also need to be convinced of its concrete benefits, such as: time savings, reduced risk of errors, and administrative certainty. Without education framed in simple terms, digitalization remains nothing more than a utopian fantasy.
Three Priorities
A clear common thread emerges from the discussion above: for Coretax to truly become the cornerstone of tax digitalization in Indonesia, three strategic priorities must be addressed.
First, bridging the infrastructure and access gap. This includes accelerating the equitable distribution of internet access, collaborating with technology service providers, and providing offline-to-online channels for taxpayer segments with limited infrastructure. Without this foundation, the utilization of Coretax will be uneven and has the potential to create inequities between regions and among taxpayer segments.
Second, strengthen data governance and transparency. The DGT needs to establish clear protocols for handling errors and system disruptions, as well as correction mechanisms that do not place an undue burden on taxpayers. A real-time disruption dashboard, taxpayers’ right to know the sources of data used, and measurable self-correction procedures will greatly help maintain trust and minimize disputes.
Third, managing organizational change and taxpayer education in an integrated manner. Internal training programs, change management, and performance indicators measuring the quality of digital services must be integrated with a strong external communication strategy directed at taxpayers. This approach will help ensure that digital transformation is not merely viewed as an IT project, but as a “360-degree” reform of public services. Coretax is a crucial step toward a more efficient, transparent, and modern tax system. By addressing gaps in infrastructure, data, organizational culture, and taxpayer education through the three improvement agendas outlined above, Coretax has the potential to be a game-changer for the DGT and the sustainability of Indonesia’s tax revenue.(*)
