Research Theme
Subnational and Property Tax
While policymakers and academics have increasingly focused on national-level taxation in lower-income countries, subnational taxation has remained relatively neglected. Yet subnational taxes have wide-ranging and direct impacts on citizens in low-income countries with important implications for small business growth, local service delivery, equity, transparency, and accountability.
Property taxes are of particular interest: they hold significant revenue potential, are non-distortionary and progressive and are easily linked to public services – yet they remain chronically underexploited in almost all lower-income countries. Our research aims to expand the empirical evidence base on property and subnational taxation, centred on three key questions: (1) why existing systems underperform; (2) what reform strategies could overcome barriers to reform, including where reform has succeeded; (3) how reform dynamics vary across contexts, to offer a contextually grounded understanding of reform challenges.
This work is led by the Local Government Revenue Initiative (LoGRI), based at the University of Toronto.
Key Resources
Subnational and Property Tax Library
Does Information about Public Services Boost Tax Compliance? I conducted an experiment in Freetown to find out
This research was conducted alongside the ICTD/LoGRI-led initiative to implement comprehensive property tax reforms in Freetown, Sierra Leone. This reform…
Building Progressive & Equitable Property Tax Systems in Lower-Income Countries: Insights from LoGRI’s Inaugural Conference
Virtual
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Timezone: Europe/Paris
While property taxation constitutes a major revenue source for subnational governments, it remains one of the most underperforming in lower-income countries. This is but one example of how, in many countries, subnational governments’ revenue-raising efforts are frequently ineffective, inequitable, and
In person
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Timezone: Africa/Nairobi
Virtual
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Timezone: Europe/London
The Addis Tax Initiative (ATI), in partnership with the Local Government Revenue Initiative (LoGRI), is presenting a series of four workshops on policy design for effective property taxation in lower-income countries. The two-day workshop on “Strategies for Cost-Effective Property Valuation
Virtual
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Timezone: Europe/London
The ICTD’s Executive Director Dr Wilson Prichard and Researcher Dr Colette Nyirakamana will be speaking at an upcoming webinar on property taxes organized by the World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment in collaboration with the German Cooperation. The
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