The political economy of property tax in Africa: Explaining reform outcomes in Sierra Leone

Jibao, Samuel; Prichard, Wilson

doi:10.1093/afraf/adv022

Cited by 48 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…There is now, for example, emerging evidence of the impact of electronic tax registers in strengthening VAT compliance in low-income countries, 57 and the ability of higher capacity administrations to use the paper trails created by the VAT to strengthen compliance. 58 Even in places where progress has been slower overall, research has captured important successes if political commitment has been present: for example, some localities have successfully introduced and expanded digitized property tax systems, 59 while other administrations have expanded the use of third-party data for income tax enforcement. 60 Qualitatively, many senior tax administrators themselves have become defenders, and promoters, of the modernized approaches to enforcement introduced in recent decades -though others have continued to attempt to preserve more informal ways of working.…”

Section: Enforcementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innovations in Tax Compliance: Conceptual Framework

Prichard

Custers²,

Dom³

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

show abstract

Section: Enforcementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innovations in Tax Compliance: Conceptual Framework

Prichard

Custers²,

Dom³

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Local governance in the country is based on the principle of direct election of mayors for a single term of four years. To overcome major political differences between the central and local governments, local governments in Makeni, Kenema, Bo, and Freetown have shown that, through local taxation, it is possible to generate substantial local revenues, limit dependence on central government funding, and hence central government control of how to deliver local services (Jibao and Prichard ).…”

Section: The Remedy: Sharing the Africa‐wide Commonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transnational Corporations and Urban Development

Obeng‐Odoom¹

2018

American J Econ Sociol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Transnational corporations (TNCs) in Africa play significant roles in controlling utilities, privately appropriating common resources, and planning urban space. On the one hand, the extralegal powers of TNCs are legitimized with patronizing discourses about the incompetence of African nations in managing their own affairs and with the specter of a “resource curse” that supposedly immobilizes the self‐governing capacities of Africans. On the other hand, TNCs arrogate to themselves statutory municipal power, ignore or manipulate various channels of accountability, and privately appropriate sociallycreated rents. Some critics of TNCs propose a withdrawal from globalization or greater regulation to limit the power of TNCs. But protectionist or isolationist approaches are entirely mistaken and further undermine the social management of the commons in Africa. Instead, Africans should seek directly to break the chains of monopoly and oligopoly, especially over natural resources. They should also strive to use land for the common good and to systematically build social states in Africa to overcome subservience to TNCs. While previous attempts at autonomous development in Africa have sometimes led to military action by former colonizers and current neo‐colonial imperialists, recent evidence from Africa suggests that such a strategy might succeed now. This article proposes to extend the politics of urban reform in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era in the United States to contemporary Africa. In doing so, it shows how African cities today are working to create local capacity by municipalizing services that have been privatized, such as distribution of water. Despite many obstacles posed by TNCs and their home governments, Africans are making great strides to overcome the enduring legacies of colonialism.

show abstract

“…While it has become commonplace in the literature to assert that 'political will' is essential to successful reform, the breadth of this concept makes it of little value in the absence of a more precise understanding of why certain political leaders may be more committed to reform than others. In parallel work we have argued that variation in political commitment to reform in Sierra Leone has been driven in significant part by differences in political alignment, elite cohesion, ethnic diversity, local political competition, and the extent to which reformers have succeeded in constructing a popular base of support for reform through expanded reciprocity (Jibao & Prichard, 2015).…”

Section: Elements Of Successful Reform Programmesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, more recent research has placed greater emphasis on the political barriers to effective sub-national tax collection. The heavy reliance of sub-national governments on central government transfers weakens incentives for local tax collection, while local governments have proven very reluctant to levy taxes on local elites in particular (Bird, 2011;Bird & Vaillancourt, 1998;Fjeldstad & Heggstad, 2012;Jibao & Prichard, 2015;Mogues & Benin, contentious elements of reform related to transparency, public outreach, and enforcement among large property owners. The overall structure of the paper is relatively narrative, as the goal is not to test macro level hypotheses about the determinants of successful reform but rather to capture the oftenoverlooked details of local level reform, and to reveal the ways in which the finer details of programme design and implementation have been critical to successful reform.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rebuilding Local Government Finances After Conflict: Lessons from a Property Tax Reform Programme in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone

Jibao

Prichard

2016

The Journal of Development Studies

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This research interrogates the factors underpinning the relative success of a property tax reform programme in Sierra Leone. Recognising the importance of politics in shaping reform outcomes, it highlights reform strategies that have contributed to overcoming both technical and political barriers to reform. It highlights three interconnected arguments. First, there is a need for long-term, hands-on, local partnerships that support local capacity, help to confront political resistance and build a constituency for reform. Second, there should be expanded focus on politically contentious efforts to strengthen transparency, public outreach, and enforcement among elites, as they are critical to programme success and sustainability. Third, a focus on the same politically contentious elements of reform can help external actors better assess the extent of local political commitment to reform early-on, and thus target reform funding and efforts more effectively.

show abstract

The political economy of property tax in Africa: Explaining reform outcomes in Sierra Leone

Cited by 48 publications

References 0 publications

Innovations in Tax Compliance: Conceptual Framework

Innovations in Tax Compliance: Conceptual Framework

Transnational Corporations and Urban Development

Rebuilding Local Government Finances After Conflict: Lessons from a Property Tax Reform Programme in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About