Carbon taxes are now starting to become a hot topic of discussion in Indonesia. Regulations regarding the carbon tax are regulated in the Law on the Harmonization of Tax Regulations, passed on October 7, 2021. The carbon tax is a tax on fossil fuels, such as gasoline, gas, aviation fuel, and other materials.
That topic was brought up by Ridho Budaya Septarianto (2019), Angelica Milano Aryani Wibisono (2021), and Muhammad Akmal Syawal (2021), three students of the Faculty of Law, University of Airlangga (FH UNAIR) in their paper which won second place in the International Scientific Paper Competition organized by the Islamic University of Lamongan. The international paper competition’s theme is “Actualization of the Role of the Young Generation in Realizing a Golden Indonesia 2045” divided into three sub-themes: Maritime Economic Development, Sustainable Economic Development, and Green Economy Implementation.
Ridho, through an interview with FH News on Tuesday (25/1/2023), said his team chose the third sub-theme.
“The topic of our paper is carbon tax as a green economy-oriented fiscal policy instrument with a double dividend concept through a revenue recycling mechanism. So, our paper discusses how the carbon tax currently regulated in Law Number 7 of 2021 concerning Harmonization of Tax Regulations can be implemented in Indonesia without distorting the economy. We focus on how this carbon tax policy can succeed in realizing a green economy in Indonesia through efforts to reformulate carbon tax provisions, including tax subjects, tariff setting, and revenue allocation. The title of our paper is ‘Reformulation of Carbon Tax Policy in Indonesia Through the Double Dividend Concept with the Revenue Recycling Mechanism to Realize a Green Economy’,” explained Ridho.
Apart from explaining the paper’s contents, they also shared their difficulties while preparing for the competition. Angelica explained that the match began with the preliminary competition stage, which was attended by 50-60 teams, then was eliminated through the abstract stage, leaving 25 teams. The next stage is the most challenging part, namely writing a full paper, then being selected until ten teams are left to advance to the presentation stage, which will be held on January 10, 2022 online, via the Zoom Meeting platform.
“This competition is very tight because it is at an international level and there are also many participants. More or less, our team prepared everything for two weeks. In addition to the short preparation time, we often experience network problems when we do research and presentations because they are done from each member’s home, so we don’t gather together. This is also the first time we have participated in this competition, so there was no planning whatsoever; everything was sudden, but thank God we were able to win 2nd place,” said Angelica.
In addition, Angelica said that the theme is closely related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), so she and her team feel that they have their challenge on how the law can be connected to SDGs, climate change points with carbon tax solutions.
In closing, Akmal conveyed his impressions of the message while participating in the competition. He and his team feel happy and proud because they won an international competition. According to him, with a law student background, winning a scientific writing competition with a general theme is a significant achievement.
“We are grateful because this victory means a lot to us. When we learned that we won 2nd place, we were shocked and proud to be able to make UNAIR proud at the international level through our writing. For those who want to take part in a similar competition, don’t be lazy to read other papers and do research. I am sure that no matter how difficult the race is, as long as you work hard and try hard, you can win. Don’t forget about good and compact teamwork,” concluded Akmal.
