“Nothing can be said certain, except death and taxes”
by Benjamin Franklin in at 1789 letter
I’m Aditia Hartanto—a former tax advisor and solicitor with over sixteen years of experience in Indonesia, now pursuing finance and law studies at The Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. This blog is where I share my journey and insights. I am interested in tax. That is an understatement.
Or more accurately, I am fascinated by it, in ways I still cannot fully explain.
It is an area of business, of law, of policy, that I have lived and breathed for over sixteen years. I have dealt with its ambiguities and uncertainties, its controversies and complexities, with simple questions of fairness and equity, and with harder ones like transfer pricing and tax litigation. In those years inside the Indonesian tax system – it seems like a lifetime ago now, even if the actual number is not that large – I have experienced it from the front lines, and from positions within it. Those experiences taught me many lessons.
The greatest, I believe, is this: that tax is never quite what it seems, it is never solely about numbers or regulation.
Tax, in fact, is fundamentally about business realities, legal certainty, trust, public administration, and people’s understanding of their duties. Living here for the last year and a half and studying a different legal system – a common law one at that, based in case law – I have found myself revisiting many assumptions I previously took for granted. This journey has forced me to think more deeply about things I had previously regarded as self-evident: How do tax authorities measure their success?
What does compliance feel like for business?
How should tax disputes be resolved?
Are our laws always fair, or are they merely predictable?
Even if the numbers might be perfectly calculated, there is a level of uncertainty that attaches to the methods and policies from which those numbers derive.
Perhaps this difference in outlook explains the gap I often see when comparing Indonesia’s tax system and legal framework to Australia’s. The gap itself, I suspect, is a fertile ground for thought. My perspective is also constantly broadened by the fresh insights of my international classmates – good mates from various parts of the world, whom I consider friends and respect immensely. Thank you, friends.
Come here whenever you want to read my thoughts, observations, questions, and evolving views on the Indonesian tax world.
Hopefully, something I jot down here eventually makes its way into my final thesis or, more broadly, gives me greater clarity. One can always hope. For now, pull up a chair and start with whatever catches your eye, whether it’s a tax observation, a question I’m still working through, or just a half-formed thought.
Enjoy. Cheers, Aditia Hartanto.
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