Discourse Contest for the Pros and Cons of COVID-19 Vaccination in Makassar City, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

This study aims to analyze the occurrence and explain the pattern of contestation on the pros and cons of COVID-19 vaccination in Makassar City. The study used a qualitative approach with data collection methods through interviews, observation and documentation. The results show that the discourse of vaccination is not only healthy but also political and economic. The pattern of contestation of knowledge possessed by the pro and contra community in the arena of health, politics and economics shows a pattern of contestation that is dominant. The knowledge of pro-vaccine community dominates the discourse and knowledge milling about in the community and on social media compared to those against the COVID-19 vaccine. This symptom can be seen in the crowded places where the vaccination is being visited by the public, long queues are always seen every time there is an implementation of vaccination carried out for free. © 2023, Kamala-Raj Enterprises. All rights reserved.

'Same storm, different boats': the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on Indonesian public companies

This study aims to evaluate the financial performance of Indonesian public companies before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from the Osiris database. Net income and return on assets (ROA) were used as proxies of financial performance, and the current and solvency ratios were also evaluated. Using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Pearson correlation test, this study found a significant difference in financial performance before and during the first year of the pandemic. The results show that 337 companies (68%) experienced a reduction in net income in 2020, while 115 companies (31%) recorded unchanged or even higher profits. Although this study found a statistical difference between the financial indicators before and during the pandemic, not all companies recorded a worse financial performance. Before the pandemic, those with substantial assets and stronger financial performance tended to experience only a minor profit reduction and higher net income in 2020. Copyright © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Do Covid-19 Tax Incentives Work Insights from Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Indonesia's economic and business growth. Therefore, the government issued stimulus in tax incentives for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) taxpayers affected. However, MSMEs' participation in utilising tax incentives is still low. This study aims to investigate tax knowledge, tax socialisation, and taxpayer awareness influence on tax compliance among MSMEs taxpayers in using tax incentives. A survey with 394 MSMEs taxpayers registered in the DGT Regional Office of Aceh as respondents were performed to gather primary data. This quantitative study uses multiple linear regression as a data analysis method to test the hypothesis. The results reveal that tax knowledge, tax socialisation, and taxpayers' awareness positively affect tax incentives utilisation. Higher tax knowledge, tax socialisation, and taxpayers' awareness rate lead to higher compliance in tax incentives utilisation. These findings may help policymakers establish future tax policies emphasising tax compliance and incentives. This study also provides an overview of the tax incentive utilisation compliance of MSMEs taxpayers in Aceh Province. © 2022 IEEE.

Do intellectual capital and financing matter for the profitability of the Islamic banking industry in Indonesia?

In Indonesia, the Islamic banking industry has been experiencing growth since its establishment in 1992. Although its profitability has declined slightly due to Covid-19, Islamic banks have recorded higher profitability than the average banking industry nationwide. Motivated to identify the factors that determine the banking profitability, this research empirically tests the contribution of intellectual capital (measured by VAICTM), banks’ liquidity (financing-to-deposit ratio), and financing ineffectiveness (non-performing financing or NPF) to the profitability (return on assets or ROA) of Islamic banks in Indonesia. We gathered data from the published financial information comprising a total of 130 observation years. The result shows that intellectual capital, banks’ liquidity, and financing ineffectiveness impacted the profitability of Islamic banks in Indonesia. The findings of this study provide policy implications for Indonesia’s Islamic banks to apply prudential banking principles in their financing activities. Copyright © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.