Gambia's New Rental Income Software: Tracking Property Owners & Tax Compliance

In this video, the Commissioner General of the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) details the development and implementation of a new rental income compliance software platform to track property owners in Gambia and enhance rental income tax compliance. Due to the the country's peace and stability, many investors are constructing properties and investing in real estate in The Gambia. These investment properties are intended to make money through rent, however many property owners and investors are not coming forward to pay their rental income tax. To address this, GRA, in partnership with RippleNami Inc., a San Diego–based technology company focused on helping African countries strengthen their economies, developed a sophisticated platform to support the collection of rental income tax. The Rental Tax Compliance System (rTCS) incorporates street views of the entirety of Banjul and the Kanifing Municipal Council, as well as artificial intelligence/machine learning algorithms to estimate the rental income value of each building. This platform allows every property to be within these areas to be identified, valued and traced back to their owners. Key features of the platform include: Comprehensive Data Collection: Information was gathered from the Ministry of Justice, Ministry Local Government, Gambia Bureau of Statistics, Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, Gambia Immigration Department, Gambia Registrar of Companies, and the Gambia Revenue authority to create comprehensive profiles of property owners and generate risk reports for tax collection purposes. Unified Profile: The platform links records from the various sources, even with inconsistent formats or missing data, to create a unified, accurate profile of a person, business or property by using a combination of techniques like exact matching, fuzzy logic, and artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) to link people/organizations → properties/buildings → tax compliance Verification: Staff can show taxpayers the screen with all the locations of properties linked to them, including 360 degree panoramic views of each property, and their estimated rental value. The project is being implemented in phases: 1) Phase One (Completed): Banjul and KMC Completed at the end of October. This phase focused on areas with the most expensive properties where rental income is earned. 2) Phase Two (Upcoming early 2026): The West Coast Region. This initiative aims to ensure accountability and boost tax revenue from rental income in Gambia.