Local Authorities and Property tax collection: Experimental evidence from Tanzania

Property tax is a form of taxation payable by real estate owners on their holdings because of their ownership or possession of the property. In Malaysia, a property tax revaluation is done once every five years or within an extended period as determined by the state government. However, the Ministry of Housing and Local Government Malaysia has recorded that most local authorities have not revalued their property for almost 35 years. Thus, the researchers conducted a focus group interview to identify the impediments in a revaluation of property tax among local authorities. The participants consisted of forty-three (43) officers from twentytwo (22) local authorities in the West of Malaysia. Data from focus groups identified were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings from the focus group revealed four (4) main impediment factors, namely (1) lack of knowledge in property tax revaluation paperwork, (2) lack of workforce, (3) cost constraints, and (4) time-consuming.

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Taxation, coercion and donors: local government tax enforcement in Tanzania

The Journal of Modern African Studies ◽

10.1017/s0022278x01003627 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 39 (2) ◽

pp. 289-306 ◽

Cited By ~ 54

Author(s):

Odd-Helge Fjeldstad

Keyword(s):

Local Government ◽

Local Authority ◽

Balance Of Power ◽

The State ◽

Direct Influence ◽

Local Authorities ◽

Tax Collection ◽

Tax Enforcement ◽

Democratic Development ◽

Inherent Component

This paper presents three propositions about tax collection by local authorities in Tanzania. First, revenue performance depends on the degree of coercion involved in tax enforcement. Reciprocity does not seem to be an inherent component of the state–society relationship in connection with local government taxation. Second, the extent of coercion depends on the bargaining powers of the stakeholders involved in the tax enforcement process. In particular, coercive tax enforcement is facilitated when the ‘bargaining powers’ with respect to tax collection favour the council administration, and the elected councillors have no direct influence on collection. Third, the presence of donors in a local authority may be crucial by changing the ‘balance of power’ in favour of the council administration, with implications for accountability, responsiveness and democratic development. These results may explain why widespread differences in revenue performance between local authorities are observed.

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Assessment of Potential Non-Tax Revenue in Malaysian Local Authorities

Vol 10 No 1 (2020) - Journal of Business Management and Accounting ◽

10.32890/jbma2019.9.2.1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (Number 2) ◽

pp. 1-21

Author(s):

Nur Berahim ◽

Mohd Nadzri Jaafar ◽

Ainur Zaireen Zainudin

Keyword(s):

Property Tax ◽

Primary Source ◽

Secondary Data ◽

City Council ◽

Primary Data ◽

Tax Revenue ◽

Local Authorities ◽

Financial Reports ◽

Revenue Collection ◽

Depth Interviews

Non-tax revenue trends and their potential have received less attention than property tax, which is the primary source for most Malaysian local authorities (LAs). This paper highlights the examination conducted on potentials and strategies adopted by each LA investigated to maximize return from non-tax revenue. In doing this, qualitative approach using secondary data acquired from financial reports and primary data from in-depth interviews was employed. Ten LAs were selected through purposive sampling. The trend of revenue collection among the selected LAs and the strategies to improve non-tax revenue collection through thematic analysis are highlighted. The analysis of the trend of local authorities’ revenue reveals that non-tax revenue remains the second most important after the tax revenue. However, Pulau Pinang City Council (MBPP) is the only LA that records an average of non-tax revenue exceeding 50 per cent of its total internal revenue. This study has also found that the divergence among the local authorities’ non-tax revenue collection is due to the revenue improvement strategies adopted by each local authority. Therefore, eight recommendations are made to improve non-tax revenue. Though this study is limited to 10 LAs as sample, the successful optimizing strategies highlighted from the study can represent an efficient model for other LAs, in improving their non-tax collection.

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