Property taxation Archives – Decentralization Net

Unlocking Zambia’s Property Tax Potential: A Path Toward Inclusive Reform

August 25, 2025 Marina Jandrevska

Effective property taxation is contingent on comprehensive property identification. In Zambia, as in many low- and middle-income countries, the first step toward fiscal inclusion is the systematic discovery and recording of properties, creating a fairer […]

Rethinking Local Taxation

January 28, 2025 Marina Jandrevska

A recent blog post has sparked discussions about the increasing international reliance on property taxes to bolster local government revenues. The post, available here, contrasts the use of personal income tax (PIT) sharing as a […]

Bricks, Taxes and Spending: Solutions for Housing Equity across Levels of Government

May 2, 2024 LPS Alliance

Rising housing costs have made homeownership unaffordable for many low-income households across the OECD. Subnational governments play major roles in housing policy through social housing provision, land use regulation, and property taxes. Greater decentralization of […]

A Review of Local Government Finance in Israel

August 22, 2023 LPS Alliance

Israel’s local governments play an important role in the provision of public services. The central government has delegated to local governments the responsibility for providing elementary and secondary education and social welfare. In addition, local […]

Property Tax in Asia: Policy and Practice

March 22, 2023 LPS Alliance

The property tax has great potential as a source of local government revenue in Asia, but its implementation has been uneven. The Lincoln Institute’s new book Property Tax in Asia: Policy and Practice provides the first comprehensive […]

Land value capture, explained

May 23, 2022 LPS Alliance

What is “land value capture”? How does it work? And why have so many communities across the world applied this financial approach? Land value return is based on a simple core premise: public action should […]

Roy Kelly Moderates 6th African Tax Research Network Congress

October 26, 2021 LPS Alliance

Duke University Professor Roy Kelly moderated the “Tenets of a Successful Property Tax Reform for Africa” session at the 6th African Tax Research Network Congress (ATRN). The virtual three-day congress was held September 6-8 and focused on […]

Central-local government relations in property tax administration in Tanzania

December 12, 2020 LPS Alliance

There has been considerable emphasis in the property tax literature on principles for what taxes should be assigned either to the central government or to lower levels of government. In contrast, intergovernmental cooperation in revenue […]

World Bank Property Tax Diagnostic Manual

November 21, 2020 LPS Alliance

The recurrent, annual property tax has tremendous potential for mobilizing own-source revenues, primarily for local governments. The property tax generates about 0.3–0.6 percent of GDP for low- and middle-income countries, 1.1 percent in higher-income (OECD) […]

Fiscal Decentralization and Local Finance in Developing Countries: Development from Below

May 17, 2018 LPS Alliance

As experience with decentralization has accumulated, perceptions of both the problems that often accompany decentralization and the best ways to deal with them have evolved. This book draws on experiences in developing countries to bridge […]