Navigating Centralized Institutional Arrangements of Property Tax Administration: Insights from Benin

This brief illustrates how various challenges associated with centralized systems of property tax administration are mitigated in Benin. In Benin, reform efforts have benefited from alignment with national priorities — particularly domestic resource mobilization and land tenure policy — as well as aid conditionality and the political configuration. Strong collaboration between the national revenue authority and local governments, underpinned by clear regulations, local bargaining power, and institutionalized dialogue, has reduced the typical incentive misalignments of centralized systems. Within the central tax administration, deconcentrated tax agency offices have served as effective coordination hubs, balancing flexibility with oversight, while the concentration of responsibilities within local tax offices has fostered close collaboration between the property identification and tax collection units. The brief highlights potential avenues of reform for other countries with similarly centralized systems.