Government Oppression Through Tax Increases in Pati Regency: A Critical Analysis Review of Public Administration

This study critically examines the manifestation of government oppression through tax increase policies in Pati Regency within the framework of critical public administration analysis. The research explores how state power is exercised by employing fiscal instruments to control and marginalize citizens, particularly those belonging to vulnerable social groups. A critical ethnographic methodology was applied, combining in-depth interviews with 25 affected citizens, government officials, civil society activists, and public administration scholars. These interviews were further supported by policy discourse analysis and participatory observation to capture multiple perspectives on the policy process. The findings reveal that tax increase policies in Pati demonstrate systematic patterns of government oppression. Four major characteristics were identified: (1) authoritarian policy formulation implemented without meaningful public consultation, (2) a regressive fiscal burden that disproportionately affects the poor and working-class communities, (3) administrative power used as a tool to silence public dissent and criticism, and (4) the use of taxation mechanisms as instruments of social control. Taken together, these dynamics show that fiscal policies are employed not as instruments of public service but as tools of domination. The study thus provides empirical evidence of how taxation in post-authoritarian Indonesia operates to reproduce structural inequalities and weaken democratic practices.