Findings and policy implications

The 2017 Survey of Local Government Taxation Capacity provides the first comprehensive set of statistics on revenue mobilization capacity, and covers each of Ghana’s 216 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs). The survey was conducted between September and December 2017 and consisted of an in-depth survey of MMDA officials and revenue collectors, and a random sample of private citizens. The statistics collected cover each aspect of the revenue collection process, including property valuations, use of revenue management software and databases, billing and collection procedures, enforcement, cost of collection, and resident knowledge of local government revenue collections and expenditures. The survey data confirm many of the hypotheses and conclusions of the Government of Ghana’s 2014 report on Local Revenue Mobilization (Government of Ghana, 2014). In particular, use of revenue management software and electronic databases is low in most MMDAs and exhibits substantial variation across districts. Many properties eligible to pay property rates are not even sent a bill, and the key reasons for a lack of billing are an out-dated property valuation list and a lack of electronic databases of property owners. Among property owners sent bills, the majority do pay but collections still present substantial challenges for most MMDAs. Enforcement is constrained by lack of resources, political will and legal capacity.The data also present new insights about revenue mobilization in Ghana. First, the cost of collection is quite substantial, particularly among salaried revenue collectors. For the median salaried revenue …