About Us

Politics of Taxation, Welfare, and National Resilience (POLTAX) Research Cluster was established in 2013 and pioneered by Prof. Dr. Haula Rosdiana, M.Si., CIRR and Prof. Dr. Edi Slamet Irianto, S.H., Adv., M.H., M.Si., CFA, CRMP. POLTAX develops taxation studies from the perspective of the politics of taxation, viewing tax policy not only as an economic instrument but also as a political product and a tool of political, social, and economic engineering for human development, social justice, and the strengthening of national resilience.

The establishment of POLTAX was grounded in a series of research initiatives on fiscal decentralization and local tax administration reform conducted since the late 2000s, particularly in response to the transfer of authority over Rural and Urban Land and Building Tax (PBB-P2) to local governments. These research efforts gained further momentum following the approval of the authority transfer during the deliberation of the Local Taxes and Charges Bill (RUU PDRD) in January 2009, including the study entitled “Capacity and Reformulation of Local Tax Authority Administration in the Expansion of Fiscal Decentralization”, which received the National Strategic Research Grant from Dikti–DRPM (2009).

Over time, POLTAX has expanded its research agenda to examine taxation as a strategic instrument for advancing public welfare, strengthening state legitimacy, and enhancing national resilience across key sectors, including food security, energy security, and maritime sovereignty. Through a holistic and multidisciplinary approach that responds to ongoing social, economic, and technological transformations, including the era of Industry 4.0 and the transition toward Society 5.0 POLTAX reinforces the position of Universitas Indonesia as a pioneer in the study of the politics of taxation in Southeast Asia.