ATI & LoGRI Workshop Series on Policy Design for Effective Property Taxation

Property tax is a major source of revenue for subnational governments, yet one of the most underperforming. Workshops will explore strategies to tap into its potential.

The Addis Tax Initiative (ATI), in partnership with the Local Government Revenue Initiative (LoGRI), is presenting a series of workshops on policy design for property taxation in lower-income countries.

Despite major revenue needs to meet urgent spending priorities in the rapid-growing cities of the Global South, in many countries subnational governments’ revenue-raising efforts are frequently ineffective, inequitable, and unaccountable  particularly when it comes to property taxation. Against this backdrop, better design and administration of subnational taxes could help governments ensure that decentralisation yields its promised benefits and increase effectiveness, equity, and transparency of tax policies.

The virtual workshop series on Policy Design for Effective Property Taxation brings together national and subnational policy decision-makers, representatives of governments, tax administrations, and relevant stakeholders from ATI partner countries and LoGRI experts in order to provide technical, administrative, and policy advice on core areas related to effective revenue generation through property taxation. The sessions featured technical inputs and insights from country-specific examples, including property tax administration challenges, successful reform processes, and lessons learnt.

The series of workshops, held between March and May 2023, consisted of four sessions on the following themes:

  1. Strategies for Cost-Effective Property Valuation Systems 
  2. Re-thinking Property Identification and Registration for Taxation Purposes 
  3. Effective Information Technology Systems in Property Tax Administration
  4. Building Taxpayer’s Trust, Compliance, and Public Support for Reform

 

Factsheet of workshop 1 | Factsheet of workshop 2

 

Factsheet of workshop 3 | Factsheet of workshop 4

 

This event series seeks to advance the discussions held during the ATI, DeLoG and NORAD webinar series on subnational domestic revenue mobilisation (DRM) for sustainable development by providing a space for exchange and hands-on advice on the design of property taxation policies.

The workshops will be succeeded by policy recommendations factsheets, follow-up activities, and tailored advisory and consultancy services based on the outcomes of the discussions.

 

More information:

          📖 News article on workshops 1 and 2.

          📖 News article on workshops 3 and 4.

 

Urban development Kenia
© GIZ / James Ochweri

 

The Local Government Revenue Initiative (LoGRI)

The Local Government Revenue Initiative (LoGRI) is an initiative of the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) and is based at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. The workshop series will build on the core expertise of LoGRI as a knowledge-led initiative aimed at shaping innovative and effective approaches to local government revenue raising.

LoGRI was created to develop policy-relevant research, knowledge, expertise, and tools to support governments to raise more local government revenue more equitably and fairly and in ways that promote trust, transparency, and accountability. The initiative directly supports partner governments in developing tailored reform programmes and develops capacities of partner countries, along with government representatives and donor stakeholders.

 

The Addis Tax Initiative (ATI)

The virtual workshop series on Policy Design for Effective Property Taxation is organised within the framework of the ATI Consultative Group 1 which supports the implementation of Commitment 1 of the ATI Declaration 2025, by which ATI members commit to “support reforms to foster equity of tax systems in partner countries in order to reduce inequalities and advance the social contract”. The event is also relevant for the fulfilment of Commitment 2, in which ATI development partners and organisations agree to “support to strengthen capacities of partner countries, both at the national and subnational levels […]”. In this light, ATI members recognise the relevance of fiscal decentralisation in the efforts to foster social and economic development.

The ATI rests upon the vision of tax systems that work for people and advance the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The ATI aims at promoting fair and effective domestic revenue mobilisation (DRM), policy coherence, and the social contract through partnerships and knowledge building.