Community Empowerment to Enhance Tax Compliance in Pemurus Luar Village

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FORMOSA NEWS - Banjarmasin - Empowerment and Digital Support Boost Voluntary Tax Compliance in Pemurus Luar Village. A team of researchers from Universitas Lambung Mangkurat, led by Rini Rahmawati alongside Asrid Juniar, Hamdani, Ali Wardhana, Megi Nediawan, Nida Amirrah, and Wafa Raudhati, has demonstrated that combining community education with hands-on digital assistance significantly improves voluntary tax compliance. Published in 2026, the study evaluated a community empowerment initiative in Pemurus Luar Village, East Banjarmasin District, Banjarmasin City. The findings highlight how practical technical coaching removes technological barriers, helping citizens adopt digital tax services independently while shifting public perception from viewing tax as a financial burden to recognizing it as a civic contribution to local development.

Tax revenue serves as the primary financial foundation for Indonesia's national budget (APBN), funding essential public infrastructure, social welfare programs, and regional development. Under Indonesia's self-assessment system, taxpayers bear full responsibility for calculating, paying, and reporting their obligations. However, many individual taxpayers and owners of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) struggle with complex administrative procedures, frequent regulatory changes, and digital tax platforms. Because law enforcement and tax penalties alone cannot foster long-term compliance, empowering local communities through targeted tax literacy and technical support has become a vital strategy for sustainable fiscal stability.

To address these challenges, the research team from Universitas Lambung Mangkurat designed an integrated community outreach program involving 86 local participants, including business owners, community leaders, and local organization representatives. The team combined interactive knowledge-transfer sessions with a practical "Digital Tax Corner" workshop and direct, on-site business mentoring. Rather than focusing solely on legal mandates, the researchers explained how local tax contributions directly fund regional infrastructure, such as drainage improvements and road maintenance in East Banjarmasin. Participants were then guided through step-by-step digital processes on their smartphones and given simple financial bookkeeping templates to streamline daily business recordkeeping.

The intervention yielded several measurable outcomes that demonstrate the power of personalized technical assistance:

• National Identity Number (NIK) Validation: A total of 74 taxpayers successfully validated and integrated their NIK with their Taxpayer Identification Number (NPWP) on the DJP Online platform.
  
• EFIN Recovery: 45 participants successfully reactivated their forgotten Electronic Filing Identification Numbers (EFIN) or recovered locked account credentials.
  
• Independent Tax Filing: 68 taxpayers, including salaried employees and small business owners, independently completed and submitted their annual income tax returns (SPT Tahunan 1770 S/SS) without visiting a tax office.
  
• Shift in Tax Perception: Local MSME operators gained a clearer understanding of the 0.5% final income tax scheme and recognized that formal tax compliance enhances their eligibility for bank financing and business licenses.
  

The real-world implications of this study are far-reaching for policymakers, educational institutions, and tax authorities. Traditional tax campaigns often rely on passive information dissemination, which fails to resolve practical technological hurdles. By integrating direct coaching with community engagement, tax administrations can build sustainable trust and elevate public tax morale. Furthermore, the project successfully operationalized the national Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM) framework, allowing university students to serve as "tax buddies" who help solve community challenges while gaining hands-on field experience.

Author Profiles
Rini Rahmawati, S.E., M.Si., Ak., CA. – Faculty member and researcher at Universitas Lambung Mangkurat specializing in Public Sector Accounting, Taxation, and Community Empowerment.
Asrid Juniar, S.E., M.M. – Lecturer and researcher at Universitas Lambung Mangkurat with expertise in Financial Management and Business Literacy.
Hamdani, S.E., M.Si. – Researcher at Universitas Lambung Mangkurat focusing on Accounting Systems and Financial Governance.
Ali Wardhana, S.E., M.Si. – Academic at Universitas Lambung Mangkurat specializing in Development Economics and Public Policy.
Megi Nediawan, Nida Amirrah, and Wafa Raudhati – Academic researchers and co-authors from Universitas Lambung Mangkurat.

Source
Rini Rahmawati, Asrid Juniar, Hamdani, Ali Wardhana, Megi Nediawan, Nida Amirrah, dan Wafa Raudhati. Community Empowerment to Enhance Tax Compliance in Pemurus Luar Village.  Asian Journal of Community Services (AJCS). Vol. 5, No. 6, Juli 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55927/ajcs.v5i7.44
URL: https://journalajcs.my.id/index.php/ajcs