The phrase “You’ll own nothing and be happy” may be a somewhat modern notion due to the quote having its verbatim origin dating back to a 2016 World Economic Forum essay, but the reality of it has been far longer standing than many would realize – case in point: property taxes.
While the enforcement mechanisms of property taxes are a prime example of a person never truly owning something, such as their home, the generally adopted structure of said taxes is even more immoral when one gets into the weeds of what they’re being taxed on.
Because when the tax bill arrives for any respective home owner in the United States, the taxes due aren’t calculated on what one paid for their home or any subsequent money related to the property that changed hands, the amount due is calculated on an arbitrary assessment of what one’s property is valued at; or what some might recognize as a picture perfect example of unrealized gains.
Property taxes in the United States have a history dating back to before the country declared independence, and while the existence of said taxes hasn’t always been warmly welcomed historically, the ad valorem structure has become progressively worse in modern times due to property valuations skyrocketing over the past few decades.
To the uninitiated in terms of the world of home or property ownership, taxation is generally understood as ‘person makes a dollar, Uncle Sam takes a dime,’ and considering the way the housing market is going for younger generations, coupled with its ostensible trajectory, said generations may very well continue meandering through that existence.
But for those who’ve managed to win the proverbial game of life and acquire and pay off their home, the reality is that the home is never truly paid off or owned by its inhabitants.
Just take a moment to consider the nefarious nature of it all – you can play by all the rules, even when the odds may be stacked against you, overcome and achieve the coveted status of homeowner, and you’ll be forever taxed on that parcel of land at a progressive rate year-over-year until the valuation of the property is unrecognizable from the amount you paid for it.
While corporations harbor residential property portfolios as investments, the vast majority of individual homeowners aren’t placing their hands on their hips while gazing upon their home and thinking about their epic investment; they’re treating their home like it was intended: a necessity for either themselves or their family.
It doesn’t matter if someone purchased a couple of acres of undeveloped land 10, 15, or even 20 years earlier for a modest amount of maybe $50K, because nowadays along comes an assessor who takes a glance at the fruits of your labor and decides that home is now worth nearly half a million and your property tax bill is going to reflect that when it arrives in your mailbox.
The proverbial cherry on top of this property tax racket is what happens if you, or the inheritors of your property whom you graciously passed it down to, are unable to pay that tax bill: your local government will come and take your house away by force. Bureaucrats who never put a dime into your home, who never labored for years to help achieve that milestone for you and your family, will send people with guns to steal your house because you couldn’t pay them a certain percentage of the amount they deemed your home was worth.
Of course, most individuals see their home as invaluable. A reasonable and principled person can’t attach a specific monetary amount to the safety, security, and domain harboring established memories - and ones yet to come - for themselves and their family.
Yet, a person who has no attachment to you or your family can simply place a ballooned value upon your home every single year, and if the tax bill isn’t paid, then that home becomes nothing more than another parcel of the investment portfolio of arguably one of the largest and most corrupt ‘corporations’ to exist: the government.
While the masses may still be somewhat asleep to this reality, people are beginning to wake up, and when the broader population realizes they’re being perpetually taxed at an ever-increasing rate under the threat of destitution for simply owning the home they live in, maybe something will change.
While the enforcement mechanisms of property taxes are a prime example of a person never truly owning something, such as their home, the generally adopted structure of said taxes is even more immoral when one gets into the weeds of what they’re being taxed on.
Because when the tax bill arrives for any respective home owner in the United States, the taxes due aren’t calculated on what one paid for their home or any subsequent money related to the property that changed hands, the amount due is calculated on an arbitrary assessment of what one’s property is valued at; or what some might recognize as a picture perfect example of unrealized gains.
Property taxes in the United States have a history dating back to before the country declared independence, and while the existence of said taxes hasn’t always been warmly welcomed historically, the ad valorem structure has become progressively worse in modern times due to property valuations skyrocketing over the past few decades.
To the uninitiated in terms of the world of home or property ownership, taxation is generally understood as ‘person makes a dollar, Uncle Sam takes a dime,’ and considering the way the housing market is going for younger generations, coupled with its ostensible trajectory, said generations may very well continue meandering through that existence.
But for those who’ve managed to win the proverbial game of life and acquire and pay off their home, the reality is that the home is never truly paid off or owned by its inhabitants.
Just take a moment to consider the nefarious nature of it all – you can play by all the rules, even when the odds may be stacked against you, overcome and achieve the coveted status of homeowner, and you’ll be forever taxed on that parcel of land at a progressive rate year-over-year until the valuation of the property is unrecognizable from the amount you paid for it.
While corporations harbor residential property portfolios as investments, the vast majority of individual homeowners aren’t placing their hands on their hips while gazing upon their home and thinking about their epic investment; they’re treating their home like it was intended: a necessity for either themselves or their family.
It doesn’t matter if someone purchased a couple of acres of undeveloped land 10, 15, or even 20 years earlier for a modest amount of maybe $50K, because nowadays along comes an assessor who takes a glance at the fruits of your labor and decides that home is now worth nearly half a million and your property tax bill is going to reflect that when it arrives in your mailbox.
The proverbial cherry on top of this property tax racket is what happens if you, or the inheritors of your property whom you graciously passed it down to, are unable to pay that tax bill: your local government will come and take your house away by force. Bureaucrats who never put a dime into your home, who never labored for years to help achieve that milestone for you and your family, will send people with guns to steal your house because you couldn’t pay them a certain percentage of the amount they deemed your home was worth.
Of course, most individuals see their home as invaluable. A reasonable and principled person can’t attach a specific monetary amount to the safety, security, and domain harboring established memories - and ones yet to come - for themselves and their family.
Yet, a person who has no attachment to you or your family can simply place a ballooned value upon your home every single year, and if the tax bill isn’t paid, then that home becomes nothing more than another parcel of the investment portfolio of arguably one of the largest and most corrupt ‘corporations’ to exist: the government.
While the masses may still be somewhat asleep to this reality, people are beginning to wake up, and when the broader population realizes they’re being perpetually taxed at an ever-increasing rate under the threat of destitution for simply owning the home they live in, maybe something will change.
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