Tax reform coalitions for urban development: the politics of property tax reform in Sierra Leone

Abstract

This paper explores the possibilities and limitations of coalitions in overcoming constraints to property tax reform, drawing on two case studies of recent reform experiences in Sierra Leone. The first case shows how support from international partners enabled the local government in Freetown to manoeuvre around political resistance to reform. The second shows how reform coalitions outside of Freetown have recognized traditional chiefs as potential reform spoilers and have thus attempted to formalize their role in local revenue collection. Together, these case studies illustrate how reform coalitions can mitigate political and elite resistance by leveraging international partnerships and aligning stakeholder incentives. However, they also point to the challenges of building popular support to sustain reforms. Beyond taxation, these insights shed light on broader questions of how reform coalitions can navigate pluralized systems of authority to address entrenched resistance to reform and support sustainable governance transformations across diverse policy domains.