JAKARTA. Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said the implementation of the DGT Coretax System has begun to generate positive results for state revenue, despite ongoing technical issues and public complaints.
Speaking at the April 2026 APBN KITA press conference at the Ministry of Finance on May 5, Purbaya acknowledged that the Coretax System had faced widespread criticism since its rollout. However, he said the system has continued to improve and is now contributing to more effective tax administration.
"Coretax has been heavily criticized since its launch. It is still being criticized today. But the system has improved, and its impact on our tax revenue has been very positive," Purbaya said, as quoted from the Ministry of Finance's YouTube channel.
As of April 30, 2026, a total of 13,056,881 Annual Income Tax Returns (SPTs) had been filed through the DGT Coretax System. The figure comprised 10,743,907 employee individual taxpayers, 1,438,498 non-employee individual taxpayers, and 874,476 corporate taxpayers.
According to Purbaya, one of the clearest indicators of Coretax's positive impact is the sharp increase in the value of underpaid tax returns. The DGT recorded an 83% increase in underpaid returns filed by mply compared with the same period last year. Underpaid returns submitted by non-employee individual taxpayers surged 949%, while those filed by corporate taxpayers increased 18%.
Meanwhile, the value of overpaid tax returns declined among individual taxpayers. Overpaid returns filed by employee individual taxpayers fell 46%, while those filed by non-employee individual taxpayers dropped 96%. In contrast, overpaid returns filed by corporate taxpayers increased 59%.
Purbaya said the increase in underpaid tax returns indicates that tax oversight has become more effective and better targeted. According to him, the Coretax System automatically integrates tax data from multiple sources, making the filing process more accurate.
"Fundamentally, the Coretax System is a good system because taxpayers no longer have to manually enter all of their tax return data. Information is pulled from multiple sources and consolidated automatically. It may now be much harder for anyone to manipulate their tax reporting," he said.
Factors Behind the Decline in Tax Return Filings
By the end of April 2026, the DGT had received 13.05 million Annual Income Tax Returns, representing 85.46% of its target of 15.27 million filings. The figure was also lower than the 14.07 million returns submitted during the same period last year.
Responding to the decline, Director General of Taxes Bimo Wijayanto said several factors contributed to the lower number of filings, including the consolidation of tax identification numbers for married couples.
"Under the family unit principle, a husband and wife are treated as a single tax unit, meaning only one Taxpayer Identification Number (NPWP) is required," Bimo said.
He added that the decline was also influenced by the filing extension granted to corporate taxpayers for their annual corporate income tax returns.
Despite the lower filing volume, Bimo said the quality of tax reporting has improved as the Coretax System continues to develop.
"The number of underpaid tax returns has increased significantly. This shows that the quality of the tax returns being submitted has improved alongside enhancements to our Coretax System," he said.
Regarding the 59% increase in overpaid tax returns filed by corporate taxpayers, Bimo explained that the figure was still affected by the filing relaxation extended through May 31, 2026. He emphasized that an overpaid tax position is a normal feature of Indonesia's self-assessment tax system.
"We will scrutinize those overpaid tax returns and proceed with tax audits before granting any tax refunds," Bimo said. (KEN)
