Property tax is immoral

It was interesting to read, on March 18, 2023, the “Views From The Nation’s Press” (the Las Vegas Review-journal) about their take on “wealth tax.” They say it “makes sense” to not be taxed on the increase in an asset’s value until the asset is sold and the gain is realized.

Then they give an example of how it would be “upsetting” if you were taxed on the increase of your home’s value even if you did not sell your home or realize any “gain” while living in it.

That is exactly what property tax does, when a government says you must pay taxes on the current value of your home, not taxes based on the original purchase price. Basically the government is taxing the “gain” even though it is “unrealized.”

For those who purchase a home while they are in their 30s, and pay it off over a 30 year mortgage, when they are in their 60s and plan retirement, they have to continue to “pay”’ for their home throughout their remaining ownership.

Not only do they have to pay annual taxes, they have to pay based on a value which may be substantially higher than the original purchase price.

The value can keep increasing, and the corresponding taxes as well, until the retired couple finds the annual tax liability can be several times greater than the original tax liability when they first purchased. If the taxes are not paid, the government can take your home, even though you thought you had paid for it in full.

In my opinion, property tax; ownership tax; and for businesses, personal property tax, are immoral. They basically say that we cannot own anything. If we want to keep what we have already paid for, we must “rent” it from the government or lose it.

— Larry Clark, Loveland