Hasseldine Studies Pandemic Tax Impact in Indonesia

John Hasseldine, professor of accounting and taxation, recently co-authored a blog on Austaxpolicy.com, a site dedicated to research and analysis of tax and transfer policy for public benefit.

The article, “How the Pandemic Affected Self-Assessed Tax Payments of Small and Medium Enterprises in Indonesia,” examines how COVID-19 influenced tax revenues from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Indonesia.

The study analyzed monthly SME tax data from 43 cities between 2016 and 2023. Using time-series modeling, the authors found that presumptive tax payments — a simplified tax system based on turnover — fell by an average of 17% during the pandemic, with the steepest declines in tourism-dependent regions such as Denpasar. Two years later, those same regions showed strong recovery, with SME tax payments increasing by nearly 20%.

Hasseldine and his co-author note that these findings offer important insights for policymakers in both emerging and advanced economies, demonstrating how regional variations and fiscal prudence can shape recovery from major disruptions.