A Study of Residential Property Tax Assessment Systems in Botswana and Sweden

Abstract: There are different ways in how to assess a value to a property and which assessment technique that is used differs due to circumstances in each country, leading to different views of what is the best and most effective way. At the moment Botswana is suffering from obsolete valuation rolls and is in the position where the system could benefit of a reform. The overall purpose with this study is to gain knowledge about how Botswana and Sweden differ in terms of property tax assessment. By clarifying the similarities and differences between how values are allocated and by determining the most value-influencing factors in Botswana, improvements of the system could be suggested. The research methods that were used to fulfil the study consisted of a review of relevant literature together with a case study performed in Gaborone. The case study contained semi-structured interviews with applicable staff and questionnaires responded by twelve valuers. The findings of this study show that there are similarities between the countries way of assessing properties since they both base their values on market value, use comparable sales method and assess both land and buildings. However, there are also differences in terms of the approach of assessment. The main difference is that Botswana applies an individual assessment method and Sweden mass appraisal. Other differences are the ones responsible for performing the assessment, and the structure of the assessment in terms of collecting data and the periods of assessment. Furthermore, the results from the questionnaires demonstrated that the most value-influencing factors for residential properties in Botswana are water, electricity and site amenities. The main conclusions drawn from this study is that Botswana could benefit from a movement towards mass appraisal and apply parts of the Swedish system. To make this possible to implement our recommendations are; to change the mindset of the stakeholders, increase awareness among property owners, base the valuation on a few important factors and computerize the cadastral register. A future research topic could be to investigate how a mass appraisal could be implemented as a step-by-step process.