Report on the evaluation of the real property tax administration project

Special evaluation covers the period to 2/83 and is based on document review, interviews with project and concerned officials, and visits to 4 regional, 10 provincial, and 17 municipal tax offices. The project has made significant gains. At least 150 local government units (LGU's) have completed tax mapping, appraisal/assessment, and records conversion; 51 of these had only begun technical implementation after 1/82 (at which time the Ministry of Finance - MOF - took over implementation responsibility from the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development - MLGCD). At another 183 LGU's, implementation of a tax system was in various stages of completion. Overall completion is estimated to be about 70%. A central project management office has been formally established in the MOF and regional MOF directors have been designated Regional Project Managers. The central office's monitoring and evaluation unit is already implementing a project-prepared monitoring and evaluation manual. In addition, training has been provided to 241 tax administrators, assessors, and treasurers, and other technical personnel (from various regions, provinces, and cities, as well as from the central office) through courses and seminars in-country and at the University of Southern California. Among the major constraints on the project has been a failure to follow certain budgetary requirements, which turned out to be a major obstacle to providing LGU's with timely funds and commodity supports. Also, the new MOF project management team was not allotted a learning period, and, as a result, lacked detailed plans and schedules and did not adequately control project performance. A key recommendation is that the MLGCD continue to actively participate in the project, particularly in tax collections. Other recommendations are made regarding project organization, personnel, planning, finance, logistics, and technical procedures; training; and a possible extension period. Field survey reports on the LGU's visited are appended.