The Case for Private Property

Aug 10, 2010 by Debra Medina | Posted in: Blog, Private Property

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The Case for Private Property

(And the elimination of Property Tax in Texas)

August 5, 2010

Including a Brief Historical Synopsis and Summary of

Enhancing Texas’ Economic Growth, Through Tax Reform,

A study by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, April 2009

Private property ownership is, first and foremost, a freedom issue.  History clearly testifies that the prosperity of a nation is inextricably linked to private property ownership.   As such, repeal of property tax is essential to our freedom and future economic prosperity and growth.

Both the historical evidence presented here and elsewhere bears this out as does the empirical evidence presented by the Texas Public Policy Foundation in their April 2009 study entitled, “Enhancing Texas’ Economic Growth Through Tax Reform”.  Empirical evidence clearly shows that the mode of taxation, even with the exact same amount of tax revenues collected, has a direct correlation to economic prosperity, and that income and property taxes are the most detrimental.  Economic indicators such as growth, work, savings and personal investments positively increase when using a sales tax as the mode of taxation.  Identification of the policy changes necessary to move from a property tax model of government funding to a sales tax model are, of course imperative, but how we accomplish this is adjunctive to returning true property rights to the people of Texas.

The Historical Evidence for Private Property Ownership

George Washington stated that “Liberty…is little else than a name, where the government is too feeble…to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person and property.” [1] The Founding Fathers reiterated the case for private property on many occasions. The Declaration of Independence asserts our unalienable rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” which was derived from John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government (1689) in which Locke describes our reasons for forming government in the first place: man “is willing to join in society with others . . . for the mutual preservation of their lives, liberties and estates, which I call by the general name, property.”

Locke delves into the topic further and states in the same document:

Man being born . . . with a title to perfect freedom, and an uncontrouled (as spelled in the original text) originally  enjoyment of all the rights and privileges of the law of nature, equally with any other man . . . hath by nature a power, not only to preserve his property, that is, his life, liberty and estate, against the injuries and attempts of other men; but to judge of, and punish the breaches of that law in others.

Our original Constitution states that we are endowed with “unalienable rights”.  Unalienable property is the basis for individual freedom and prosperity. Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines unalienable as “not alienable; that cannot be alienated; that may not be transferred; as in unalienable rights.”

Before our founding fathers extolled the importance of private property, thoughtful people such as Aristotle, Aquinas, and Spanish Scholastics, Gotius and Lock, [2] proposed that property was an unalienable right of man. Tom Bethell, in his Book, The Noblest Triumph: Property and Prosperity through the Ages [3], ascribes the early colonies near demise to equitable distribution demanded by the funders; the potato famine to the lack of private property rights and cites Thomas Malthus’s observations of Ireland: “There is indeed a fatal deficiency in one of the greatest sources of prosperity, the perfect security of property.”

The fall of great empires bears out the fallacy of Plato’s premise and argument for communal property.  Indeed, we can even see in the wealth and productivity levels of countries today that those who protect private property are more productive and thus enjoy a higher standard of living.  As Murray Rothbard clearly noted, most all historians have made the same error: they have believed that the history of thought was a long history of progress rather than recognizing that sound ideas ebb and flow in history.  We must rescue the great ideas from the past and compare them with the bad ideas of the new economics, big government and socialist philosophies.

Recent U.S. History

Unfortunately, policy makers in the United States have fallen susceptible to big government ideals and we’ve now seen the United States fall from the list of those nations that are free, ranking 8th on the Economic Freedom Index published by the Heritage Institutes behind  1. Hong Kong, 2. Singapore, 3. Australia, 4. New Zealand, 5. Ireland, 6. Switzerland, and 7. Canada.

Private Property in the U.S. scores an abysmal 8.5% on the Property Ownership Index.[4] As a result of our failure to recognize the principles of economic prosperity and to cling tenaciously to the great ideas from the past, those embodied in our Constitution, the United States has seen a decline in economic freedom.  This is not acceptable in a society which grants in its Constitution that citizens have “unalienable rights” and is becoming less acceptable daily as people become more and more fed up with government overspending and no end in sight to taxation.

What About Texas?

When Texas is ranked among the states on economic freedom, we come in at 31 among the 50 states. The U.S. Economic Freedom Index published by Pacific Coast Research Institute [5] ranks states on economic freedom.  The Institute notes, “great minds throughout history have observed and remarked on the relationship between political and economic freedom and have arrived at the same conclusions” namely as Jean-Baptiste Say concluded, “Of all the means by which a government can stimulate production, there is none so powerful as the perfect security of person and property.”

In 1999 Texas was ranked 8, in 2004 Texas ranked 17 and in 2008 Texas had dropped to 31 among the states!  Yet we continue to hear from our elected officials that they have protected our individual rights; that taxes are low and productivity is high; that Texas is economically prosperous.

The literature is full of journals, articles, books and case studies by economists and great philosophers who conclude private property ownership is essential to freedom and economic prosperity.   Isn’t it time to restore true private property ownership to Texans?  We Texans believe that it is.

But don’t we own private property today some would ask?

According to Thomas Jefferson, “Nothing is ours, which another may deprive us of “.[6]

There is no question that Texans can be deprived of their private property today. Therefore, no one who pays property tax in Texas truly owns their land, we simply rent it from the government.

The Empirical Evidence for Private Property Ownership and Property Tax Elimination: The Texas Public Policy Foundation Study [7]

The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) used two methodologies to determine the effects of property tax on Texans and the economy.  The study cites 19th century American economist Henry George who said:  The mode of taxation is, in fact, quite as important as the amount. As a small burden badly placed may distress a horse that could carry with ease a much larger one properly adjusted, so a people may be impoverished and their power of producing wealth destroyed by taxation, which, if levied in any other way, could be borne with ease.

The study bore out George’s premise that the mode of taxation, with the exact same amount of revenues collected, has a direct correlation with economic prosperity.  Economic indicators such as economic growth, work, savings and personal investments, all positively increase when using the sales tax mode of taxation.

All taxes, by definition, impose a cost on the economy—what economists call the “tax wedge.” While all taxes create a negative impact, property taxes create a larger tax wedge than consumption taxes, and are therefore inferior to consumption taxes.

Specifically, property taxes:

•     Are less stable than consumption taxes;
•     Create larger economic distortions;
•     Are less related to taxpayers ability to pay;
•     Are costlier and more complicated to administer; and
•     Discourage capital-intensive industries from locating in Texas.

Migrating from a property tax and business franchise (property and income) tax to a sales tax structure creates many benefits for the state without changing the total tax revenues that the state and local governments currently raise.  TPPF concluded that “regardless of the sales tax reform that is ultimately implemented, based on the theory of sound taxation and the empirical evidence, Texas should replace its current property tax revenue system with an expanded sales tax.”  But before changing a system of taxation, one must determine what a sound tax policy would include.

A sound tax system:

  • Is easy to understand;
  • Is not overly costly to implement, and minimizes economic distortions (erroneous budget projections based on property tax revenues that do not grow proportionally to citizens ability to pay them);
  • And should be transparent.  (The Texas Comptroller’s website states that their office collects more than 60 separate, fees assessments and separate taxes, most of which are not transparent – Note by We Texans and not part of the TPPF study)

The Benefits of a sales tax are:

  • Enhanced economic growth;
  • Stronger job growth;
  • Increased population growth,
  • A stronger competitive environment; and
  • A revenue stream that is more closely aligned with the citizen’s ability to pay
  • Provide Transparency of taxation.   Sales taxes, are significantly more visible—especially sales taxes paid by the purchaser at the final point of sale. Additionally, consumers can exercise greater control over their sales tax burdens compared to property taxes.

Specifically the TPPF study found:

  • Texas imposes the 13th highest property tax burden in the U.S., 21 percent higher than the national average.
  • Consistently, States with the lowest tax burdens experience faster economic growth, greater employment growth, and lower unemployment rates than the states with the highest tax burdens.
  • Tax revenue growth for the states that do not levy either a sales or income tax has also outpaced those states where all three tax sources are levied. Consequently, arguments that all three tax sources are necessary to adequately fund the government are simply not supported by the facts.
  • Beyond the faster growth rate, the states that did not levy either a sales or income tax also experience smaller declines in revenues during the recession of 2001 than the states that did levy all three major tax sources. Having more tax sources did not provide revenue stability during the last revenue downturn.  A similar dynamic appears to be happening during the current economic downturn.
  • When personal income is growing, so are sales tax revenues; when personal income is stagnating, so are sales tax revenues. The tax burden grows in line with taxpayers’ ability to afford it. On the other hand property tax revenues in Texas do not grow similarly to residents’ ability to pay them.  This instability in revenues also leads to massive over- and under-estimates of general fund revenues. Instead, sales taxes can smooth out the revenue cycles.
  • If property taxes were replaced with a sales tax, personal income in the state of Texas could potentially increase in the range of $3.1 billion to $3.3 billion in the first year or 2.0% and over a five year period, on a cumulative basis, would increase between $21.3 billion to $52.1 billion or 4.3%.
  • The proposed tax reform would lead to a net gain of new jobs; during a five-year horizon, between   127,700 and 312,700 over the job growth Texas would have had if no tax reform were implemented. This would not only positively affect output, production and employment with the state, it would provide significant incentive for business to relocate.

Historically when Government has spent to the point that the citizen’s income cannot keep up with it, tax revolts happen.  Property tax revolts have been well documented throughout the history of the United States. Our country was founded on one.  We indeed believe that we have been endowed through our Creator with unalienable rights and the people of Texas want them restored.  We Texans demand that the 2011 Texas Legislature pass legislation requiring a proposed Constitutional Amendment eliminating property tax be placed on the November 2011 ballot in Texas.

Conclusion:

Historical evidence clearly shows that the protection of private property rights leads to prosperity and economic growth.  The historical evidence also supports the idea that private property was fundamental to freedom in the eyes of our founders and based on scholars and philosophers of the Enlightenment. We have also seen that the empirical data from the TPPF study bears out the economic and personal benefits of eliminating property tax to citizens and governments alike.  If the government can deprive us of our property, then according to Thomas Jefferson we don’t have property.

Property taxes must be eliminated and replaced with a tax which is based on a citizen’s ability to pay it and not the whims and spending habits of state government. Nor should taxes be based on inflated revenue projections by legislators. We Texans would reiterate that tax reform is merely adjunctive to the right of people to the own and enjoy their own property and to exercise their unalienable rights as provided for in our Constitution.

To schedule Debra to deliver this message to your group, send an email to invite@WeTexans.com

[1] George Washington’s Farewell Address, Source: The Independent Chronicle, September 26, 1796

[2] The Ethics and Economics of Private Property, Mises Daily: Friday, October 15, 2004 by Hans-Hermann Hoppe.

[3] Tom Bethell, The Noblest Triumph. Property and Prosperity Through the Ages (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998).

[4] The 2010 Index of Economic Freedom, The Heritage Foundation, http://www.heritage.org/index/

[5] U.S. Economic Freedom Index, 2008 Report, Pacific Coast Research Institute

[6] Thomas Jefferson to Maria Cosway, 1786. ME 5:440 http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff1550.htm

[7] Texas Public Policy Foundation Study, April 2009 http://www.texaspolicy.com/pdf/2009-04-taxswap-laffer-posting.pdf

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Comments

  • http://lvtfan.typepad.com LVTfan

    It seems to me that you are falling into the trap of conflating two very different kinds of things under the banner of “real estate” or “property.”

    That which man creates, individually or through hiring others, is rightly his, and shouldn’t be taxed. That includes his buildings, equipment, wages and products, and services.

    But land is different. Nature provides it — God, if you prefer — and the community — federal, state, county, local — invests in the infrastructure and services which make it valuable, through our taxes. Further, by our presence, all of us add value to the land in our communities.

    So why should the economic value of land become the private treasure of an individual or a group of shareholders, something to profit privately from? That forces us into taxing wages, and sales, and other things created by private effort.

    I realize this is a radically different point of view from the one you hold, but hope you will consider it. I came around to this slowly, even grudgingly (my late grandparents saw the logic of it 70 years ago; I’m a bit slow!). I’ve concluded that treating land value as our common treasure, and untaxing — that is, privatizing — wages and things humans create, is the route to justice, to a level playing field for all, and to a stable economy.

    • Tomas Real

      I wish I would have found this earlier but regardless I must say, with all due respect “LVTfan” your reasoning is illogical at best. A rational person would reach the exact opposite conclusions. For one God (or nature if you prefer) made every thing, the materials used for our houses and every thing we labor with including our bodies. So by your reasoning we have no right to anything. Even if you wish to use the argument that the justification for ownership is the fruit of our labor individuals often labor more to improve the land than they do for their houses etc. Have you ever heard of farming?

      Regardless of these facts, that by themselves make your argument irrational, there is a much more grievous error in your rational. What makes my home valuable has absolutely nothing to do with the government or my neighbors and labor is not necessary to earn ownership, if it were we would all be owned by our parents. Our right to acquire the ownership of land, our homes in particular, comes from God; after all he made the land not the government. What you speak of is simply the evolution of serfdom where kings and lords and have been replaced by rulers of the state. At least medieval serfs had the option of paying with chickens, labor or some other farm product, we modern day serfs must pay with cash something only the government can make.

      The value of my home comes from the liberty it gives me. It can not be appraised in monetary terms any more than you can put a price on freedom. It’s not for sale and as such it has no monetary value. Its incredible to me that you can possible believe that the government has the right to deny me my liberty and take my land if I don’t provide for their jobs and lavish retirement benefits. What you justify is pure and simply an organized criminal syndicate or a government that denies the people the essence of what it is supposed to protect. Property tax is the basis of slavery. If you can’t own your land and home you’re owned by the State.

      • Dora Vela

        “The value of my home comes from the liberty it gives me. It can not be appraised in monetary terms any more than you can put a price on freedom. It’s not for sale and as such it has no monetary value. Its incredible to me that you can possible believe that the government has the right to deny me my liberty and take my land if I don’t provide for their jobs and lavish retirement benefits. What you justify is pure and simply an organized criminal syndicate or a government that denies the people the essence of what it is supposed to protect. Property tax is the basis of slavery. If you can’t own your land and home you’re owned by the State.”
        YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD! AMEN!

  • http://www.urbantools.org Joshua Vincent

    Using a Henry George quote is indeed interesting, as he was full square against taxes on capital and labor. He proposed a tax that centered on land values, excluding buildings, sales, incomes and cap gains.

    It is not a fact, during this recession that property taxes are unstable. Sales taxes go down first, real estate transfer taxes cratered, business and personal income taxes went next, while property taxes remained the most stable.

    Why is the rest of the country wondering why Texas has remained afloat during this economic collapse? Most would say its the reliance on the property tax to a greater degree than most states, as does New Hampshire, Montana and other states.

    Sales taxes are regressive and bad for business. Delaware has no sales tax, and is a destination for shoppers from all over the Mid-Atlantic. New Hampshire has nearly no sales taxes, and the shopping malls in that state are filled with cars from Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont.

    The push for greater sales taxes can but end in one place: a VAT, Euro-style. Lovers of personal freedom won’t like that very much, nor will the forces of a free market.

  • TxLibertyLady

    My fear is that people have fallen into the trap set by elected officials who espouse that property tax is necessary to pay for local services. Your point is well taken that this is a freedom issue and not a monetary one. Locals will find a way to pay for what they want just as folks in Stafford Tx have done. They have no property taxes there and seem to be flourishing. See article http://www.fortbendcounty.org/news/documents/Zero_Property_Tax_Suits_Stafford.pdf

    eliminating property tax takes away power and money from several groups of people – no wonder that those who benefit from the thievery would want to perpetuate it.

    • Darrel Mulloy

      While Stafford has elected to not accept property tax as a funding instrument, real property there still has taxes on it for schools and county expenses, so you are still paying property taxes.

  • http://texasracecity.com guy frederick

    i agree property taxes should be eliminated.have forwarded to all my friends

  • Chris H

    “But land is different. Nature provides it — God, if you prefer — and the community — federal, state, county, local — invests in the infrastructure and services which make it valuable, through our taxes. Further, by our presence, all of us add value to the land in our communities.”

    What does nature – God, if you prefer – not provide? Does nature not provide the water you drink; the fish you eat; the air you breathe; the timber for your house; the stone for your foundation?

    Oh no, yours is a dangerous fallacy when brought to its full conclusion; that government has a future claim, in perpetuity, because it has contributed some modicum of value above what nature offered. Never mind that it was only able to offer the improvement through the theft from others. Never mind that it was man’s investment in his government that the creature even exists. Never mind that it is man’s natural right to alter or abolish it as he sees fit.

    If we are to have government, in order to tame it, we must be cognizant of how it eats, breathes and grows. As soon as a people can justify government’s ability to raise revenue through force, the people must understand that no differently than a cancer secures it’s blood supply, that beast will use every power it has to maximize and stabilize it’s revenue source;

    Because governments feed off of property taxes, government uses all of its power to maximize and stabilize property values. It creates zoning boards and the restrictions that follow. It spies on you to assess the value of your home through appraisals. It dictates how you may or may not protect your property. It determines what you may or may not build on your property. If left to it’s own devices, it would take your home and give to a private company so that it could receive even greater revenues (see Kelo). If there were no property tax, it would have no interest in any of this.

    The same is true for every type of forceful taxation. If the scheme be a tax on your labor, the state will demand the maximization and stabilization of labor (see unions). If it be a tax on consumption, the state will demand the maximization and stabilization of consumption.

    While there are dangers in the maximization and stabilization of consumption, it at least depends on the freedom to make that choice (and if credit be restrained by the existence of capital, there are natural checks and balances there as well – but that’s a lesson for another time).

  • James

    I wonder what kind of tax a small town could initiate if they have few businesses and larger cities are within a few miles where major purchases are made. Would small towns have to look to the State of Texas to pay for road repair and pay city employees?

  • Rick Cunningham

    LVTfan’s thought-provoking analysis can, upon reflection, be easily extended to everything we have or produce. Without the technological, social and commercial infrastructure provided by society at large, our labor would be worth less, our capital diminished or non-existent, and even our children less well-nourished and educated. None of these are reasons to tax those things.

    The reason for taxing our citizens is very simple — it costs money to run our government, and in our free-enterprise system government does not generate the wealth necessary to run itself. The question is which of the many available methods of taxation provides the optimal balance among competing goals such as efficiency, fairness, economic vitality and — most importantly — compatibility with our most fundamental values as a people. The necessarily subjective nature of this question is the source of so much honest disagreement among thoughtful observers.

    Debra makes many good points in her case against the property tax as it exists in Texas, but I understand her primary point to be that the system abuses the people’s fundamental liberty interest in the ownership of their private property. Once the case is framed in this way, the existence of surrounding infrastructure and services seems to have much less relevance.

  • Ed Weirdness

    One can argue that land should be taxed, but arguing thus, only gives politicians and bureaucrats ammunition they will use to undermine our interests. No activity conceived of man can be accomplished without land. Already city and state government abuse the citizens of Texas by annexing property they seek to regulate. Indeed, recently a retired friend asked for my help when the City of Melissa threatened to annex all of his property in the county if he didn’t close down his seasonal fireworks stand and remove or demolish all the buildings on his property? We can hardly argue that we oppose confiscatory tax policy, while we still allow bureaucrats to oppress citizens through rule bending and threats.

  • Freedom 2010

    Raw land is no treasure. Only through an individuals hard work and ability to make it produce does it become valuable. If you have ever owned a piece of “raw” property you know what I am talking about.

    Private property ownership is the only thing that stand between the total control of man by the government. In other words it eliminates the possibility of kings and serfs or slaves if you will.

    The value of improved land is that one has personal freedom and the owner does not have to rely on the government for food or shelter. It was the freedom of men to own property and improve that property by building roads to take produce, cattle to market etc. that enabled the “infrastructure” that we have. Without the demand, there is no need for supply. It was built by people who were free to be innovative which created the demand.

    I don’t mean to be harsh but it amazes me that people are so historically ignorant that they don’t know the downfalls of “common” property. Whomever argues that property should be “common” obviously doesn’t know history which has consistently proven that people have no incentive to take care of something that is not their own and to their own benefit. People will work harder and take more risks if there is a chance their station in life will improve. This is just human nature.

  • http://www.remoteworldtraining.com John Spinuzzi

    All land in Texas was originally given by land grant. Those grants declared that the land belonged to the grantee, and his heirs and assignees FOREVER – that the state of Texas FOREVER relinquished all claim to the land. This was done to insure that Texas land owners could not be deprived of their property and end up becoming serfs to an oppressive government. The courts stole our property by declaring that title deeds were on titles of colour (false titles), and therefore could be claimed – or at least controlled, by the state. Greedy politicians have let this atrocity stand.
    Also, if land is a gift from God, how dare the state tax God’s people for it? Chris got it right!

  • http://usalandliquidators.com Texas Land for Sale

    I really enjoyed this post. You describe this topic very well. Time after time land for sale has continually proven to be a good investment. These lots can be developed into high-quality recreational estates, subdivisions, or commercial ventures.

  • http://www.homeimprovemetnssource.info Gala Demiter

    Thanks, appreciate it.

  • Fallon T Gordon Sr. MD

    Our Constitution, in Articles one and nine, prohibit direct taxes including property taxes. Property taxes in Texas can be increased by governments anytime they desire with the result that one’s paid for and owned property could be stolen by government officials when the property tax is higher than the property owner can pay. We must get rid of all property taxes!

  • http://www.joinamericaagain.com David M. Zuniga, P.E.

    Debra put out a notice today telling us to pressure the members of the House Ways and Means Committee to sponsor or support a bill eliminating proerty taxes or else we’ll not re-elect them.

    Can Debra tell folks what else we can do, if our House member is not on the Ways & Means Committee? For instance, my Rep. is Frank Corte Jr; does anyone know if he has pull on the committee?

  • jim Berkner

    I can understand how the polititions want to control whatever they can. That’s just human nature. If they want to do the school tax correctly they should institute a per residence tax. that would cover all places where someone could live and raise a family. It would be a fair tax in that every residence would be equally taxed. all money would go to a central pot and equally divided according to the number of students in that school district. The apartment buildings with lots of residences and people would have to pony up a larger share of the pie. I can understand a local tax to cover infrastructure roads etc. that increases the value of the area. That could be paid for by a sales tax on building material or a sales tax on the structure. If someone wants to build a million dollar house and live in an expensive neighborhood then they should pay for it up front in property sales tax and taxes for building the home. the ownership is 100% with no possibility of government takeover. Improvements would be the same one time taxation. Sales tax is the best method and should be instituted on the stock market as well. it would certainly elmimate the wild swings in the market if they had to pay 2 to 5 % upfront.

  • Senior Tax Protester

    What an exciting time in which we are living . Difficult, yes, but exciting. I have just read through all the posts concerning “The Case for Private Property.” There are many conflicting arguments, but they are all put forward civilly and I believe all, well intended. It reminded me of a dramatization I watched recently titled A More Perfect Union depicting the weeks of struggle our Founders went through that hot summer in Philadelphia in drawing up our Constitution.
    I believe Debra Medina has drawn attention to an issue as big and as basic as our Founders faced. Will we live free or will we be ruled (and our property and lives controlled) by masters? Had we held the Federal Government to its designated powers and controlled spending by our state and local governments, we would not be facing these problems, but we did not keep the “eternal vigilance” Jefferson said , “was the price of freedom. So we are now struggling with the issue of how to restore freedom? Certainly abolishing property taxes is a key part of of this effort.
    I would respond to the premise that land is different from other property because it was provided by God. I do not know of anyone except Adam and Eve (and one day God will place Israel in the land that he promised Abraham) for which God provided any land. Every piece of property we have owned in nearly 70 years, has been bought with the (fiat) dollars my husband and I labored for and then exchanged with the previous owner by mutual agreement. God did not show up at the closing. Perhaps I am being less civil than others, but I am only trying to make a point. Whatever I have, is a gift from God. If he did not design and create the process of procreation, I would not be here today to own property or to breath air. However, as a practical matter…the fact that I am here, I must provide for myself. The very best way I have determined to do that, is to own property.
    Those sincere God fearing men ( not deists) struggled in Philadelphia over their differences until they were able to come to a document that has provided more opportunity and freedom than any other man kind has ever drawn up and has provided more prosperity to this country than any other country has ever known. We have been a beacon of hope for people from across the globe…but taxation and regulation is changing all that. As Debra quoted, the US was recently ranked 8th among the countries for Economic Freedom and Texas was ranked 31st among the 50 states. We must address these problems of taxation and regulation or return to a time when there was the landed few and the rest were surfs. The answer may not be easy, but it is essential that we work until our task is accomplished.
    I was most intrigued with the suggestions of a residence tax. That would make all taxing entities equal. There would be no need for the “Robin Hood” redistribution from property rich districts to poor property districts or from rich retail districts to bedroom communities with little or no retail potential. There is probable a negative side to this idea, but I find it well worth serious consideration. I have been working for the elimination of property taxes since the 80′s when C A Stubbs was organizing taxpayer groups across the state and this is the first time I have ever heard the possibility of a residence tax discussed.
    I am optimistic that if we are committed to continue to work together and respect each other, and our differing suggestions, we can find the correct solution. Recently I was having a discouraging day and commented to a dear friend, “I just do not think this was going to work. If it could have been done, someone would have already figured out a solution.” Her response, “Do you mean you think we can put a man on the moon, but we can’t figure out a way to finance our government without stealing from its citizens?” That was just what I needed to hear. That is my offer to all the readers here! We can find a solution to this problem…we must!

  • Ray

    @ Jim.
    I agree with most that you are saying, however, why should someone who chooses “Homeschool” or someone whom does not have children in school have to pay “school taxes”?

  • Ray

    @ Chris H.
    Why have you put GOD and the fed Gov in the same category, ( In know they feel that way but surely not you,and intellegent man)GOD give us inalienable rights, and with that come freedom to own property. You should read how our founders connected the two. Freedom and property rights were inseparable. Tax on preperty is just another way for the Fed gov to own your home, you may call it property or real Estate, it doesn’t matter, it’s all the same.

  • Chris H

    Hey Ray,

    I was replying to LVTfan’s post. LVTfan asserts that because God created something and government invested in it, that government then has a right to tax it. I disagree with that assertion whole heartedly.

  • Chuck Light

    Land is as much property as goods, business, services, etc.,, It is purchased. I understand that God provides the land, but somewhere along the line, our local, state and federal government decided that we need to purchase it. That makes it property to own. Property Taxes are rent that we pay for the privilege of Ownership. Ownership of land or anything else is not a privilege, but a right, a part of our liberty, if you will. If I’m smart enough to interpret the Constitution correctly, it is spelled out there.

  • http://www.docstoc.com/docs/55146297/Home-Theater-in-a-Box Jennifer

    Fantastic stuff – Many thanks for posting that info, I suspect that it basically answers my concern.

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  • Tomas Real

    Essential to the elimination of property tax is exposing the greatest lie ever told and a clear understanding of the fact that it is impossible to tax ownership. No rational person on the planet believes an owner is someone who must pay another to keep what is supposed to be theirs (precisely what properly tax makes you do) yet we continue to call people homeowners. You’re not the owner until you make the last payment. When do you make the last property tax payment? The primary reason for ownership is the liberty that it provides you by freeing you form debt. The State retains ownership of your property with property tax. Your home is their investment. You are not the owner, they are and we need to make this point crystal clear to everyone.

    The American Dream of homeownership is the greatest lie ever told and its time we demand that government and every other so called authority quit using this term to describe people forced into government servitude by property tax. To be called a homeowner should be considered an extreme insult for it’s an outrageous lie that mocks the concept of liberty. Until we make an issue of this with everyone in the media, business and especially the government no one is going to take seriously the elimination of property tax. Charging some one for what they own defines slavery. Taxing ownership transforms ownership into servitude.
    You can’t tax ownership any more than you can make the earth flat by religious decree. What one does when they claim to tax ownership is make ownership into that which it is not. Redefining ownership from that which gives you freedom from debt to that which puts you in eternal debt is ludicrous. My two year old understands this and that our so called “authorities” are incapable of seeing this makes them into members of yet another “flat earth society”. In the middle ages governments insisted the earth was flat and the serfs were told that the kings and lords owned all the land and that they had to make payments to continue living on it. At least our middle age lords had the decency not to lie to us about who was the owner. All that seems to have changed from the middle ages is that the ruling class admits they were wrong about the earth being flat but now lies to us about the ownership of our homes. You have to wonder why must they lie. I mean if what property tax provides is so important that it justifies our servitude why must they lie and call us homeowners. Its not as if though some are not aware of it and I have the example that proves it. February 2007 State representative Marco Rubio of Florida introduced a proposal to eliminate homestead property tax and replace it with sales tax. Senator Mike Haridopolos commented on this proposal and I quote: “It’s an intriguing idea. You would truly own your own home. You wouldn’t jeopardize losing your home because of taxes.” It would seem reasonable to ask the Senator, since when did the constitution say we don’t have the right to truly own our homes.
    A good government would guarantee the right of the people to acquire liberty with the ownership of property. Our government, with property tax, is denying the people their right to acquire liberty, and stolen the ownership of their homes. We need to put it in their face, insist they quit lying, insist they no longer call people homeowners. Write every one that uses this lie and demand they quit doing it.

  • Tom Diorio

    We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

    Consider, if you will, a time predating the US government created by Americans of the day.

    Life:
    What are the requisite necessities to sustain it? Food, clothing and shelter.

    From where does the food we require emanate to sustain the lives given us by a loving God? From the land God created and gave us, not governments, to subdue.

    Where do we get our clothing to cloth us against the elements. From the produce of the land our loving God gave us, not the government.

    Where do we get our shelter to shelter us? From the land in the form of raw material that we must hew into a shelter to protect the life our loving God gave us; not the government.

    So in defense of our God given right to life, property ownership is becomes part of our essence, necessary for our existence.

    All of the above in spite of and not the result of the benevolence of any government with a god complex.

    Liberty:
    Liberty is the ability to exercise ones God given rights unmolested by any other and defensible by the use lethal force if necessary.

    Happiness:
    Happiness is the realization of the exercise of God given rights which includes the necessity to acquire private property.

    It is not possible to surrender rights given by God. They are an integral part of our being as revealed in natural law. They are useless to any other. It would be an affront to God to allow a government to presume to lord over us in a way reserved only to God.

    To tax our private property is to tax our very existence, our most basic of rights.

  • Steve Johnson

    It seems to me that when the needs of the individual are not “frustrated” by needs of government that things just work better. The ability to own my property without the prospect of annual taxes hanging over my head just seems like to right thing.

    I am willing to trade MUCH lower property taxes for increased consumption taxes.

  • Virginia

    Excellent article and posts! Couple of things I have read about concerning this are:
    1. “Real Estate” only implies an interest in property, not full ownership as in private ownership or allodial.
    2. County recorder’s office and assessor only record business, residential/(temporary) commercial real estate, NOT private property. Residential is not the same as domicile.

    My questions are:
    1. How does one revert their property back to being private?
    2. Can we assume that fraud is being committed with every real estate transaction that takes place.. because it is never private property that we are purchasing?
    3. Can we possibly ask our tax office for an explanation on their title codes as to why they do not have anyone’s property down as private property? I’m thinking it must be because they cannot legally tax private property!

    It would be great if anyone knew how to get around this terrile property tax. If it’s not stopped, there will be nothing to leave for our children, other than MORE debt, and only if they can afford it!

    How many precious lives have been lost in the past to save this one vital right to own property! We have allowed ourselves to become serfs once again to corporations that tell us to jump, and we respond with how high!

    The fear that MOST of us as Americans live with each day is absurd. We are all afraid of not having a roof over our head or bread on the table.
    We feel that as long as we just stay quiet, give freely of our hard earned labor to a system that is only seeking our destruction and that of our children little by little, by taking all that we hold dear…it won’t hurt as much.

    Sometimes you just gotta wonder if our creator will hold us responsile for sitting idly by ad not standing as a nation? I believe this all goes deeper than just property! We seem to be so dumbed down that:

    1. We think it’s a normal way of life to ask permission from our masters to marry(marriage license)
    2. We ask permission to travel(driver’s license),when it is the people who have given up the precious sweat from their brows for those roads.
    3. We all get birth certificates for our bundles of love, never questioning why the info. on these certificates goes to US dept. of Commerce? Have we even looked up the word “commerce” in blacks law dictionary, check out some of these words folks!
    4. And what about that wonderful social security number we all get at birth?Without being numbered, we cannot work, if we can’t work, we can’t eat or buy things,have shelter,get a bank account, we have a hard time getting utilities on,and alot more!
    5. Property taxes…we pay rent forever to the schools(corporations), and if we don’t, we lose our homes! How many elderly people have lost their homes over this stuff?

    Can we even plead ignorance?

    We have allowed this system to become a monster that is no longer for the people, but against the people! Placing upon all of us only serfdom priviledges now and only if we pay for them! Unalienable rights, the ones each of us are born with, will be non-existant if we continue to act like the ostrich that stuck it’s head in the sand! Or better yet, the froggie that felt at home in the pot of cool water….while all along they were heating up the water little by little, until the froggie boiled to death!

    Unfortuantely we are too afraid to take a stand together to tell our government that we as a nation of Americans, want less of them and more money in our pockets for our families!
    To demand that our Constitution and declaration of Independance be restored to it’s rightful place!
    That we want them to take ONLY the place that they are suppose to have as servants in helping to keep our rights intact! If we must pay to keep certain protections,then we gladly do so, but never at the expense of giving away our natural born, God-given rights, otherwise we only have tyranny!

    I agree whole heartedly with this article… raise the sales tax if need be, at least in that, we have a say so as to if we want to buy something or not and what our labor is paying for. We must restore private property to homeowners by not taking their land (yes, God gave us land and much more!)because they choose to not support the government run schools.

    I just know there are other ways of securing our liberties and taking care of our country…………. America was great before all this abuse and can be again, IF WE STAND TOGETHER ASIDE FROM ALL PREJUDICES and make our voices known! If we do nothing, and only a few stand, don’t expect anything but tyranny and continued hardship and possily worse things to come.

  • Dotpate

    Wasn’t there something called a colloidal title that eliminated all taxes? Heard about that several years back.

  • Glen

    I know I am late to this conversation but I just heard about this site. Nice!

    So on property taxes, I always thought they were to support the local infrastructure. If so why is my car driving on the roads, getting mail etc. etc. worth more because of the “value” of my house? So if I have a shack on 2 acres I can drive on the roads I barely pay for but if I have a 300k house, I pay for all the shacks? Help me. Also paying for schools, the local college ? WHAT?!?! bridges and roads (registration tax… I mean FEE) by the time it is all said and done we pay as much as those we ridicule in London 50% or better. Enough already. Even the churches (God) only ask for 10%. Sounds about right to me.