Urban property taxes in Pakistan’s Punjab
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Wani-et-al-2020-Policy-Brief.pdf
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- Property tax is a significantly under-utilised tax instrument in Punjab, accounting for only 6% of the total provincial tax. With a population of over 100 million, all of Punjab collects less urban property tax than the city of Chennai in India, home to about 10 million people.
- Punjab's cities have significant service delivery deficits. For example, only 35% of urban households in Punjab have piped water. These deficits will worsen in the absence of local financing that can be used to make public investments.
- This policy brief outlines the current landscape of property taxation in Punjab, highlights the significance of this source of public finance, and frames future policy direction, particularly the trade-offs between various valuation systems.