African Public Finance the Heritage

African Public Finance

The Heritage Foundation released its 2012 annual Economic Freedom Index which measures "10 benchmarks that gauge the economic success of 184 countries around the world" (Heritage.org. About. 2012. PP. 1 ). Two direct neighbors in Sub-Saharan Africa: Botswana and Zimbabwe demonstrate the extent to which government policy can engender or strangle: economic activity, capital formation, national savings, infrastructure development, and foreign direct investment. Botswana is a marker for economic freedom and strong growth with the "second best score (69.6) out of 46 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region…and a world rank of 33" (Heritage.org. Botswana. 2012. PP. 1). Contrastly, Zimbabwe's overall score of 26.3 leaves the nation last in the "46 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region…and 178th in world ranking (Heritage.org. Zimbabwe. 2012. PP. 1). This data leads to significant conclusions regarding policy choices for other African nations in specific areas of: property taxation, tax structure, and protection of property rights.

Overview

With a developed and thriving economy based on market orientations, open and free trade, limited government, and significant property right protections Botswana has a five-year annual growth rate of 3.5%, GDP of 28.5 billion and $15,849 per capita, public debt at 13.2% of GDP, and a stable low inflation rate (Heritage.org. Botswana. 2012. PP. 1-2). Zimbabwe conversely has a negative five-year growth rate of 2.4%, GDP of 5.5 billion and $434 per capita, public debt at 56.2% of GDP, and continues to suffer from a decade long bout with pernicious hyperinflation (Heritage.org. Zimbabwe. 2012. PP. 1-2). While Botswana is marked with social, political, and economic stability; Zimbabwe under the regime of Robert Mugabe has devolved from "a diversified economy with a well-developed infrastructure, and an advanced financial sector…to an economic and social destruction characterized by instability and volatility" (Heritage.org. Zimbabwe. 2012. PP. 2). African nations surveying these economic divergences can discern useful lessons on creating a balance between private and public sector roles within a greater framework of economic philosophy and governance.

Property Tax

Developing economies around the globe must embrace the importance of a strong and vital infrastructure; not simply the roads, bridges, and buildings but a broader expanse to include: education, health care, and competitive industry. These essential elements come from considerable private sector influence however; the role of government is not to be understated in providing the guiding direction in developing and maintaining institutions and infrastructure. To do so revenue must be raised from the private economy through taxation; sufficient to collect requisite funds but not to create obturations to growth. Much of the Sub-Saharan continent suffers from inadequate infrastructure primarily because of lack of private sector economic dynamism however; missing in the equation is proper revenue generation from a broad and functioning tax base. There is some circularity to this argument; government needs to "scale up infrastructure investment to reduce production and trade costs" (Mubiru, a. 2010. PP. 5), yet cannot do so without consistent revenue streams.

The property tax represents a broad-based scheme "which offers a significant, and largely unexploited opportunity for taxation in Africa" (Mubiru, a. 2010. PP. 5). Property taxes "can grow with urban development and the corresponding need for urban infrastructure…and are progressive, scalable, and administratively feasible" (Mubiru, a. 2010. PP. 5). In Botswana "local authorities levy rates on property owners" (Deloitte.com. Botswana. 2012. PP. 1-2) with sale rates not exceeding five percent (Deloitte.com. Botswana. 2012. PP. 1-2). The "rates" provide a solid funding base which allows for continued upgrade and development of infrastructure. Zimbabwe by contrast has no property tax rate which has left their infrastructure open to decay and stagnation. The rule for policy onlookers should be a low "rate" scheme which will grow as investment and infrastructure bloom. This tax program however, must be in the larger context of an effective overall tax policy.

Tax Policy

The stability and prosperity of Botswana is reflected in a tax regime which is built to raise revenue to fund necessary government service but encourages economic freedom and dynamic free markets. Zimbabwe presents a complex and confiscatory system which discourages entrepreneurial activity and wealth accumulation. Tax structures must provide transparency, low rates, as broad a base as possible, and a configuration which allows expansion of individual investment and savings. The goal of lower income African nations should be to build a flat rate system which strives to reduce the "total tax burden as a percentage of total domestic income" (Heritage.org. About. 2012. PP. 1-2) to a level which balances private investment with government spending needs on infrastructure.