Technostructural intervention of the tax ombudsman unit in Indonesia A study on Taxation Oversight Committee

Integrity, accountability, and fairness are crucial attributes for public service pro-vision, especially for government agencies with strategic role of collecting tax revenue. To ensure those principles prevail, Indonesian Parliament and Govern-ment, represented by the Minister of Finance, agreed to establish Taxation Over-sight Committee (TOC) as a check and balance unit similar to tax ombudsman to oversee Directorate General of Taxation (DGT) and Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DGCE), two units who carry the mandate. In addition to the ombudsman-ish tasks to prevent fraudulent behaviour and power abuse from DGT and DGCE officials, the Minister also demands TOC to produce technostructural interventions, i.e. conducting study and analysis to recommend ways to improve their performance. However, since its formation in 2010, a comprehensive evaluation of TOC’s impact on tax administration has yet to be seen. For that reason, this research aimed to qualitatively measure TOC’s effectiveness in performing its tasks and functions, along with its determining factors. To achieve the objective, this study was conducted by two sequential qualitative research methods. The secondary data analysis was used to assess TOC’s recommendation monitoring data from 2015 to June 2018, and it was followed by the in-depth semi-structured interviews that sought confirmation, explanation, and the reasoning behind the analysis result. This research finds that the intervention provided by TOC has yet been influential and valued. The assessment indicates the pseudo-independence performed, inadequate organisational and institutional capacities, reduced budget, ineffective human resource management, and a policy that discourages democratic control contribute to TOC’s ineffectual performance. However, the positive perception from the taxpayers and the liaison officers, and the initiative to align its interest with DGT’s and DGCE’s programs could be seen as encouraging attempts towards more effective interventions.