Property Tax and Sustainable Development in Ekiti State: Citizens’ Perspective

Abstract

Ekiti State government enacted a new tax policy, the taxation of buildings and landed properties, in order to ensure sustainable development and boost its revenue profile. Although increasing tax revenue represents a vital aspect of developmental policy, knowledge, motivation, and compliance activate tax for inclusive economic development. In line with the fiscal social contract theory and using an exploratory–descriptive research design, this study specifically assesses the citizens’ knowledge and their motivation to pay property tax, and how it affects their level of compliance. Multi-stage, stratified random, and simple random sampling techniques with questionnaires and key informant interviews were engaged. Findings suggested that citizens are not unaware of the property tax and the law backing it up, but due to their lack of trust in the government, their motivation and compliance cannot be improved. However, the government needs to set up practical actions in fulfilling their own part of the contract in order to gain citizens’ trust.