In the next few weeks, residents of Freetown are expecting to receive new property tax bills as part of a revamped and more progressive system.
Aki-Sawyerr recognised that in order to expand services, the Freetown City Council (FCC) would need to dramatically increase property tax collection.
The city council has now registered virtually every property in Freetown, roughly doubling the number on the tax register from 57,000 to about 110,000.
Under this system, Freetown's potential revenue from property tax has increased more than five-fold, 70% of which will come from the top quarter.
Table 1: Change in tax liabilities by property value quintiles (currency in USD)
Bold leadership in the face of crisis
The implementation of Freetown's new tax system was almost upended by the coronavirus pandemic.
