Abstract:

Sea transportation has become an increasingly important contributor to Indone-sia’s GDP, and it is even more important as the country has positioned itself to become the world’s maritime axis. User charges for the sea transportation sector have become more complex, and this development has led to high taxation costs. With the national and global economy in recession, forcing the Indonesian ship-ping industry to undergo cost efficiency measures has added to the costs to business players in sea transportation and has inhibited the industry’s productivi-ty. This research applies a qualitative approach with the data collection method of in-depth interviews, documentation studies, and library studies. Our analysis shows that instead of increasing the national revenue, from the government’s perspective, the complexity of user charges has instead led to administrative costs and policy costs. Therefore, the simplification of user charges by way of their amendment and government regulation in the short term will become a ne-cessity in order for Indonesian sea transportation to enhance its national competi-tiveness.