Its turtles all the way down.
Thank you (and everyone else) for the info. I was genuinely surprised when I discovered what it actually entailed. I read this
story about a guy whose family home had been sold under their noses by the local government (in Texas of all places) without a letter of foreclosure.
What’s worse, the demolition happened shortly after their brother Charles, who had been living in the home, moved out due to repeated calls and letters warning of tax issues. Months later, the Alexanders discovered a new duplex foundation had been poured on the land that they own.
Developer claims property was 'foreclosed' on
While different members of the Alexander family have lived in the house for decades, the family as a whole fell behind on property taxes.
"I kept getting letters and things like that — phone calls saying that we were behind on taxes and we had to leave, so that's why my brother [Charles] left. And immediately after, that house was torn down," said Kelly Alexander.
A part of me thought "no shit, you didn't pay so they took it away", but when I realised what it was they
didn't pay, I was in disbelief. I think positively of America (free speech, guns, portion sizes, and Elvis Presley) so this "tax" being a thing at all hit me like
Paris syndrome hits an Asian tourist.
It's without a doubt one of the most tyrannical things (alongside Homeowner's Associations) that exists within the USA. Homeownership/landownership is sacrosanct to me and if your home can be taken from you
after you've bought it, or worse: after your great-great-great grandparents bought it — that's tantamount to having never owned it to begin with. I've never been a "all taxation is theft"-sort, but this is the blatant theft there is. If you generate zero income and keep expenses to a minimum (or zero depending on how self-sustainable you are), but are still expected to pay for the privilege of living on that parcel of land, then what's the point of ever having bought the house to begin with? Its existence likely impacts renters too since the tax is no-doubt dispersed over annual rent.
We have eminent domain in the UK as well (this
story is the reason I went down this rabbit hole to begin with) but you could (in theory) live a life entirely on amassed savings in your own home generating zero income without ever sending a penny directly to the government again. My government is tyrannical since it limits people by pre-empting a potential nuisance (no guns, no "inciting" speech, etcetera) but property taxes prevent you from living a life free of being a nuisance from anyone.
We all have our own government tyrannies to bear.
