Between Zakat and Tax: The Construction of Fiscal Legitimacy Through Perception by UIN Students in Contemporary Indonesia

Abstract

This study aims to identify and analyse UIN students’ perceptions of taxation in Indonesia by linking classical Islamic levies, civic obligations, state revenue, and public welfare within a conceptual framework. The study employs a descriptive-interpretative qualitative design to gain a contextual understanding of the students’ knowledge, reasoning, experiences and constructions of meaning regarding taxation within their social lives in contemporary Indonesia. Primary data were sourced from observations and interviews with students from the Faculty of Islamic Economics and Business at one UIN, whilst secondary data were drawn from relevant literature. Data were collected through observation, semi-structured interviews and documentation, and were subsequently analysed using the stages of data condensation, data presentation, and the systematic and iterative drawing and verification of conclusions. The findings indicate that students accept taxation as a civic and moral obligation, provided that its collection is fair, transparent and proportionate, and is genuinely directed towards the common good and public services. Informants’ understanding encompasses taxation as a compulsory levy, a source of state revenue, and an instrument of distribution; however, awareness of indirect tax payments remains limited in everyday practice. Consequently, tax education at UIN needs to integrate positive law, Islamic ethics, budgetary mechanisms, literacy in direct and indirect taxation, and critical scrutiny of state expenditure. Future research should involve informants across UINs and faculties, strengthen triangulation, and combine interviews with surveys, literacy tests, observations, and measurable actual behavioural data.