| The Disturbing Truth About the Home You Think You Own |
| by Nick Giambruno |
 |
The North Dakota Referendum That Could Have Changed Everything
In 2012, North Dakota held a referendum to become the first US state to abolish property taxes.
The measure aimed to amend the state constitution, eliminating property taxes and requiring the government to find alternative revenue sources.
Proponents argued that property taxes were unnecessary since North Dakota already had ample income from state taxes and oil revenues. They also pointed out that property taxes disproportionately burdened low-income homeowners and senior citizens. Eliminating them, they claimed, would provide financial relief, boost economic growth, and attract businesses and residents.
However, a coalition of bureaucrats and special interest groups fought against the referendum.
In the end, voters overwhelmingly rejected the measure—78% chose to keep their property taxes.
A Disturbing Distortion of Property Rights
Most people thoughtlessly accept property taxes as a normal part of life—like gravity or the sun setting in the west.
Yet, a crucial truth is overlooked: there is no way to fully pay off your property tax obligation.
It never ends—it follows you as long as you own the property, increasing year after year.
This raises fundamental questions:
Do you really own something if you’re forced to make endless, ever-increasing payments just to keep it?
The answer is obvious: No.
You might possess the property, but you don’t truly own it—an important distinction.
Imagine if the mafia imposed a “coffee table tax” in your neighborhood. Every year, they demand $100 for every coffee table in your house—forever. If your coffee table increases in value, your payment increases.
Mafia enforcers would assess your coffee tables annually, ensuring they extract more money. Refuse to pay? You’d face threats, violence, or the outright confiscation of your coffee tables.
Would you say you own those coffee tables?
Most would recognize this as extortion. Yet, the same people accept government-imposed property taxes without question, paying endlessly for “their” homes, offices, and land.
In reality, you are merely renting from the true owner—the government. Stop paying, and you’ll quickly learn who really owns your property.
Governments routinely seize homes over unpaid property taxes.
Across North America and Europe, people pay tens of thousands of dollars in property taxes each year—just to live in their own homes. And the burden will only increase because nearly every government is in financial distress.
When politicians need more money, they raise property taxes—like turning a thermostat dial.
That’s why property taxes have nowhere to go but up.
Over a lifetime, it’s entirely possible that the government could extract more in property taxes than the value of the home itself.
The Inescapable Reality
Property rights and property taxes are inherently incompatible.
What’s yours should be yours—without having to pay for permission to keep it.
That’s why property taxes are an affront to property rights, which serve as the foundation of civilization itself.
As the great Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises once said:
“If history could teach us anything, it would be that private property is inextricably linked with civilization.”
Those who enforce, promote, and benefit from property taxes are the real anti-civilization forces. |
