HomePublicationsStrengthening IT Systems for Property Tax Reform
ICTD Summary Brief 11
The introduction of improved IT systems has long been hailed as a powerful – potentially transformative – tool for strengthening local property taxes. Yet in practice this promise has rarely been achieved on a sustainable basis in Africa, despite significant investment. The challenge lies in understanding why new IT systems have failed to deliver promised benefits, and in devising more effective systems and strategies moving forward.
Wilson Prichard is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, Chair of the Local Government Revenue Initiative (LoGRI) and former Executive Officer of the International Centre for Tax and Development (2020-2024). His research focuses on the relationship between taxation and citizen demands for improved governance in sub-Saharan Africa.
Paul Fish has been assisting local government initiatives to mobilise revenues through property tax reform since 2006. As part of a team Paul has developed and implemented a reform program as well as directing dedicated software to administer those reforms. He has worked in Sierra Leone, Malawi, Senegal, Ghana, and Uganda. Paul draws on his earlier property valuation experience as principal of consultants Altus Group based in Toronto, Canada.
