F

iling the annual tax return, something many of us do around this time of the year, shouldn'€™t be that difficult, especially now that we can do it online. Nevertheless, it'€™s still something I never look forward to doing.

For a fixed-income earner like me, filling in the SPT (tax return forms) is straightforward. I really have no reason to be grouchy. Two hours, tops, and I'€™m done.

But I still get all worked up and upset every time I look at the amount I pay, which slices a significant sum off my hard-earned income. This year, I feel the need to complain even more, and louder if I could.

Have you ever paid for something and then realized that you have been short-changed? That'€™s exactly how I feel. I am not getting my tax money'€™s worth. But then, do we ever?

Take a look at where our tax rupiah go. Don'€™t forget that on top of the income tax stipulated in the SPT, we also pay sales tax on most goods and services we purchase. Some of us pay taxes on property we own.

Part of our tax money goes to worthy programs, like social entitlements for health and education, and cash for the poor. Some goes toward public works, the upkeep of security and defense and other public services. I have no complaint about this spending.

The bulk of our tax rupiah goes on the salary of civil servants and state officials, from the president and elected politicians to the lowest levels of government workers. And here, I do have a bone to pick.

I assume (although you'€™re welcome to challenge me) that the majority of people on the state payroll are doing their share of work. But many of them are not only free riders; they are also stealing our tax money, big time.

Looking at the names of people who have been trooping in and out of the Corruption Eradication Commission'€™s (KPK) office to face interrogations this past year, I can'€™t help feeling that many are not only being paid out of our tax money, but they are also helping themselves to money from the state till .

Recent high-profile scandals involving people in powerful places have further convinced me that we taxpayers are getting a raw deal from those who supposedly work for us.

Taxpayers have been footing the bill for the grand police ball being held as our top cops go after top KPK leaders, whistleblowers and the media, waging a vendetta because they didn'€™t get their way with the appointment of the top job for the National Police.

The protests they staged and the hullaballoo they made for several days outside the South Jakarta District Court last month to show support for one of their men was a gross abuse of our tax money. Shouldn'€™t they be chasing real criminals out there?

The House of Representatives has also let us down, not only with its meager output of laws, but also with its unnecessary infighting. Legislators voted to repeal direct local elections only to reinstate them less than six months later.

This debate consumed so much time and energy, and no interests were served other than those of political ego.

The fight over the local-election bill was simply a continuation of the battle between two coalitions of political parties that vied for the presidency in the June elections. One would have thought that once the election was over, they would stop all the bickering and start working for the nation. No, the fight continues, even to this day. How many laws have they produced since their inauguration?

And then there is the rampant corruption, mostly indulged in by people on the state payroll, stealing money from the state.

Besides the cases being handled by the KPK, we are witnessing a new saga between Jakarta governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama and city councilors over allegations of fictitious budget spending.

If the state was managed professionally like a corporation, these people in high places would have been fired. Sadly, taxpayers have little leverage to punish these overrated and overpaid politicians and officials.

Perhaps we should have a campaign along the lines of '€œNo taxation without representation'€, a slogan used by 13 American colonies when fighting to free themselves from British rule in the 18th century.

As far as our tax rupiah go, democratic representation is rapidly wearing thin as these power-hungry and greedy state apparatchiks violate their own oaths of office and serve their own interests.

Since we pay our taxes like good citizens, we should also be more demanding on how and where our tax money is spent.

A call to boycott tax? Pointless, since most of us already pay our tax as soon as we earn the money under the withholding tax system. At the most, we could demand our money back, or a discount. But that'€™s not going to happen.

Or we could all do what I plan on doing: send a '€œlove letter'€ to director general for taxation Sigit Priadi Pramudito and President Jokowi, along with our SPT, emblazoned with the message: '€œWe are not impressed.'€
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The writer is senior editor at The Jakarta Post.