Enhancing Green Governance through Digital Groundwater Tax Management: A Case Study of Balikpapan City

¹ Master Department of Public Administration, Universitas Mulawarman, Indonesia
² Department of Public Administration, Universitas Mulawarman, Indonesia
³ Department of Public Administration, Universitas Jember, Indonesia
⁴ Department of Public Administration, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia

^* Corresponding author: bambang.irawan@fisip.unmul.ac.id

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the management of groundwater tax in Balikpapan City through digitalization to improve efficiency, transparency, and accountability in tax administration. This research adopts a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, comprising descriptive quantitative and qualitative analyses based on secondary data gathered from official government documents and reports concerning groundwater taxation. The research findings indicate that the implementation of digital systems such as SIMPAD, which has been applied since 2016, and online payments via QRIS and Virtual Account (VA), which have been implemented since 2021, have increased the efficiency of groundwater tax reporting and payment, as well as strengthened real-time monitoring. However, this study found that the lack of real-time monitoring of groundwater usage through water meter installation remains a significant challenge. Therefore, this study recommends implementing a digital-based monitoring system to support the principles of green governance and sustainable natural resource management. The limitation of this study is its reliance on secondary data without incorporating direct interviews with taxpayers, which could be the focus of future research to gain deeper insights into groundwater tax management at the community level.