The Implementation of Earmarking Tax Policy on Cigarett e Tax in West Java Province

In an eff ort to control cigarett e consumption in Indonesia, one of the policies used by the government is the earmarking tax policy on cigarett e tax. In fact, the prevalence of smoking in Indonesia continues to increase even though the government has imposed various state levies. The purpose of this study is to analyze the implementation of earmarking tax policy on cigarett e tax in West Java Province, as one of the regions receiving the largest cigarett e tax allocation in Indonesia. This research uses qualitative approach with data collection techniques of literature and in-depth interviews. The results show that the earmarking tax policy on cigarett e tax has not been able to reduce the prevalence of smoking since the cigarett e tax in the region has not been utilized as per its designation. The function of control of earmarking tax policy on cigarett e tax is limited to controlling budgeting aspect; yet, there is no control function related to cigarett e tax income to be used according to its purpose (earmarking). Other factors are the cheap price of cigarett es sustained by people's increasing revenue, massive tobacco advertising, and fervent smoking culture in the community. A partial policy that only relies on state levies is perceived as insuffi cient to control cigarett e consumption, particularly without coordination among stakeholder in central and local governments. In fact, cigarett e tax revenue has been budgeted for public health services in West Java Province; nevertheless, its implementation in the fi eld has not been fully utilized for public health services.