"Bahlil: Starting in 2027, mobile phone users will also be taxed!" reads the text on a TikTok graphic published on July 22, 2026.
It goes on to claim the tax would be imposed because of the widespread use of mobile phones and that the policy would promote digital fairness.
The poster-like post appears to show Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia speaking at an event.
The false claim circulated as public concern over Indonesia's economic condition grows, with the rupiah hitting successive record lows and foreign debt ballooning to $434 billion in the first quarter of 2026 (archived here and here).
This was followed by a sharp decline in the government's approval rating to approximately 30 percent, according to a survey conducted by Indonesian polling institute Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting in July (archived link).
Similar posts have also circulated on Instagram and Facebook, but there are no independent government sources to back up the false claim.
A spokesperson for Indonesia's Directorate General of Taxes told AFP on July 30 that there was "no regulation imposing a tax on mobile phone users starting in 2027 until now. This information is false."
The spokesperson went on to say that introducing a new tax regulation would require a lengthy and transparent process and that "such a policy would not simply appear out of nowhere". The government could independently review such a policy or discuss it with members of...
"Bahlil: Starting in 2027, mobile phone users will also be taxed!" reads the text on a TikTok graphic published on July 22, 2026. It goes on to claim the tax would be imposed because of the widesp...