Local Government Revenue Initiative (LoGRI)

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://hdl.handle.net/1807/138146

Cities in the Global South need significant revenue to build infrastructure and provide local services. However, efforts to collect taxes, particularly on property, are often ineffective and inequitable. LoGRI supports governments to raise local revenue more fairly and in ways that promote trust, transparency and accountability. We do this by: 1) Partnering with governments to provide hands-on support and advice, 2) Conducting collaborative, applied research to inform reform projects 3) Developing operational tools, including technology solutions and 4) Delivering skills training to develop local capacity We also seek to share insights and shape policy by engaging with regional and international stakeholders on local public finance issues. LoGRI is based at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and is an initiative of the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD).

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Local Government Revenue Initiative (LoGRI) Annual Report 2023
(2023) LoGRI
Managing the Distribution of Property Tax Bills
(2024-05) Schenker, Xaver; Prichard, Wilson; Stewart-Wilson
Distributing tax bills is an administrative function that is foundational to effective property taxation. However, bill distribution is often overlooked in reform programs in lower-income countries that tend to focus on issues of property identification, valuation, facilitating payments, and compliance. This guidance note reviews the challenges to effective property tax bill distribution in lower-income countries, before describing a tried and tested approach that relies on GPS coordinates to identify properties and sequence bill printing and delivery. The guidance note discusses the trade-offs of several policy decisions related to bill distribution, including outsourcing printing and delivery and using mobile applications to track and verify delivery. The guidance note concludes with a discussion of some potential alternative strategies for effective bill distribution.
Strengthening Delivery of Property Tax Bills
(2024-05) Schenker, Xaver; Prichard, Wilson; Stewart-Wilson, Graeme
Discussions about strengthening property tax systems in lower-income countries typically focus on issues of property discovery, valuation, facilitating payments, and encouraging compliance. But it is just as important to address the seemingly more routine elements of property tax administration such as delivering tax bills. This policy brief summarizes the importance and challenges of effective property tax bill delivery in lower-income countries, before highlighting the trade-offs of alternative approaches to limit reliance on physical bill delivery. In most contexts, the dominant option will be to invest in strengthening administrative capacity to ensure comprehensive and verifiable delivery of physical tax bills. The policy brief outlines strategies for strengthening the two key elements of effective physical bill delivery: (1) putting in place a comprehensive addressing system to guide deliveries, and (2) improving administrative systems to record and verify bill delivery.
Implementing a Points-Based Valuation System for Property Taxation
(2024-05) Orgeira Pillai, Nicolas; Schenker, Xaver; Prichard, Wilson; Stewart-Wilson, Graeme
This guidance note outlines an approach to implementing a simplified automated valuation model (AVM) for property taxation in lower-income countries. Like all AVMs, the points-based valuation system uses a formula to calculate a proxy for the value of properties that can be used for tax purposes. It emphasizes data gathering processes that are simple and verifiable, and prioritizes formulas that are also relatively simple and transparent. The guidance note describes the steps required to implement the points-based valuation system, including various considerations and trade-offs that can help adapt the approach to different contexts. We discuss the criteria included in the model, followed by strategies to organize data collection, gather market information to calibrate the model, build the model, and update and adjust the model to meet the needs of specific contexts. The guidance note concludes by demonstrating how the model is applied to property data to generate value estimates that can be used for taxation.
Understanding the Potential for Property Tax Reform in Zambia
(2024-09) McCort, Regan; Stewart-Wilson, Graeme; Orgeira Pillai, Nicolas
Reforming Zambia’s property tax system has significant potential to transform the country’s local government finances. This policy brief draws on the findings of a diagnostic assessment conducted by LoGRI to identify the main binding constraints to improved property tax performance and suggests several policy reforms to help achieve that goal. The diagnostic assessment identifies incomplete property discovery, costly and opaque property valuation, and rigid and expensive rate-setting processes as the main binding constraints that, if addressed, could yield sustained improvement in outcomes. To help overcome these challenges, Zambian policymakers could delink property taxation from local planning, enable automated valuation models to simplify and expedite property assessment, delegate more property tax responsibilities to local councils, and improve the flexibility and efficiency of rate-setting processes. The challenges facing Zambia’s property tax system are not unique. The findings of this case study will therefore be useful for policymakers in other countries interested in enhancing the capacity of their own local governments to collect more revenue in a more equitable manner.
Property Discovery for Tax Purposes: Challenges and Opportunities in Zambia
(2024-10) McCort, Regan; Stewart-Wilson, Graeme; Orgeira Pillai, Nicolas
Before properties can be taxed, they must first be identified and recorded in a property database. Improving the coverage of property databases is thus the first step in developing more effective and equitable property tax systems. In Zambia, properties require a plot number before they can be registered for taxation, which means they must have been formally planned by the state. As a result, large proportions of unplanned properties are omitted from the tax system, although they are often located close to properties that are registered for taxation. This policy brief, which is based on the Local Government Revenue Initiative’s (LoGRI) diagnostic assessment of the property tax system in Zambia, highlights the main challenges of the current approach to property discovery and argues that a taxation-first approach is the most appropriate strategy to achieve more comprehensive and equitable coverage of the property tax system. Many sub-Saharan countries place similar restrictions on the registration of properties for tax purposes, and this brief will therefore be of interest to a wide range of policymakers looking to improve the coverage and equity of their property tax systems.
Strengthening Property Valuation for Taxation in Zambia
(2024-10) McCort, Regan; Stewart-Wilson, Graeme; Orgeira Pillai, Nicolas
Effectively, efficiently and transparently assessing property values is foundational to improving property tax collection. Property valuation in Zambia, as in many sub-Saharan countries, relies on a small cadre of highly-trained professional valuers to estimate the market price of each property in a jurisdiction. When implemented well, market- based valuation has significant advantages. But in practice, market- based valuation is often costly and hard to execute effectively. This policy brief is based on the Local Government Revenue Initiative’s (LoGRI) diagnostic assessment of the property tax system in Zambia, along with findings from a simplified approach to valuation piloted in one local council. The brief summarizes Zambia’s current approach to property valuation, along with its challenges. Several reform possibilities are highlighted, including the adoption of automated valuation models (AVMs) to mass assess properties and the further delegation of valuation responsibilities to local levels of government. The challenges – and potential solutions – facing property valuation in Zambia reflect common challenges across much of sub-Saharan Africa. The discussion in this brief is therefore relevant to a wider audience of policymakers interested in reforming their country’s approach to property valuation.
Challenges and Strategies for Advancing Property Registration Efforts in Senegal
(2024-12) Nyirakamana, Colette; Barras, Camille; Marie-Reine, Mukazayire
Revenue generated from property taxes has the potential to strengthen local governments’ financial capacity. However, local government often struggle to fully realize this potential. This poor performance is largely due to the inability to regularly identify and register all properties, as is the case in Senegal. To address this challenge, the Senegalese government has supported three nationwide property identification and registration programs. This policy brief describes these programs and outlines their current achievements and challenges. It provides recommendations to inform Senegal’s tax administration strategies to improve the ongoing efforts and promote their sustainability. -- Les revenus générés par l’impôt foncier ont le potentiel d’améliorer la capacité financière des gouvernements locaux. Toutefois, ces derniers peinent à en exploiter pleinement le potentiel. Cette faible performance est en grande partie attribuée à leur incapacité à identifier et enregistrer régulièrement toutes les propriétés, comme c’est le cas au Sénégal. Afin de remédier à ce défi, le gouvernement sénégalais a appuyé trois programmes d’identification et d’enregistrement des propriétés à l’échelle nationale. Ce bulletin politique décrit ces programmes, présente leurs réalisations actuelles ainsi que les défis rencontrés. Il présente ensuite des recommandations pour guider les stratégies de l’administration fiscale du Sénégal, afin d’améliorer les efforts en cours et d’en assurer la pérennité.
Inter-Institutional Collaboration in Property Tax Administration in Senegal: Challenges and Perspectives
(2024-12) Barras, Camille; Nyirakamana, Colette; Mukazayire, Marie-Reine
Effective property tax mobilization depends on a combination of many factors. One crucial but relatively understudied aspect of property tax performance is inter-institutional collaboration. In many francophone African countries like Senegal, property tax administration is primarily controlled by the central government, while the revenue generated accrue to local governments. Furthermore, close collaboration is required between government institutions, particularly those in charge of the cadastre, taxation, and collection. This policy brief presents the ways in which the different actors in charge of property taxation collaborate in Senegal and examines how these inter-institutional dynamics affect performance. It also proposes recommendations for improving collaboration structures and practices. --- Une mobilisation efficace de l’impôt foncier repose sur une combinaison de nombreux facteurs. Un aspect crucial, mais relativement peu étudié de la performance de l’impôt foncier, est la collaboration interinstitutionnelle. Dans de nombreux pays africains francophones comme le Sénégal, l’administration de l’impôt foncier est largement contrôlée par le gouvernement central, tandis que les recettes générées sont transférées aux gouvernements locaux. De plus, une collaboration étroite est nécessaire entre les institutions publiques, en particulier celles en charge du cadastre, de l’imposition et du recouvrement. Ce bulletin politique présente les modalités de collaboration entre les différents acteurs responsables de l’impôt foncier au Sénégal et examine comment ces dynamiques interinstitutionnelles influencent la performance. Il propose également des recommandations pour améliorer les structures et les pratiques de collaboration.

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