How Local Authorities Can Exploit the Potential for Effective Property Taxes: A Case Study of Harare

Property tax is tax charged on real estates or immovable assets. The tax base may be on land only, land and improvements on the land, or improvements on the land only. For the purpose of this paper property tax shall be referred to as tax on all types of immovable properties, residential, commercial and industrial, and farms. Recurrent taxes on property or rates charged by local authorities are commonly labelled property taxes. These are charged by local authorities in many countries. They are charged on the assessed value of the land, building or a combination of them. Different countries and local authorities value real estate differently and also apply different tax rates on the properties. However, property tax remains the major source of revenue for many municipalities. This ICTD Research in Brief is a two-page summary of African Tax Administration Paper 4 by Munatswi Nengeze.