4 ms·

Not sure how it is in Germany but in the US even if you buy your house in cash you don't own it. Go a few years without paying property taxes and you won't be i

• bryanlarsen 3y ago
  You can extend that argument to say that you own nothing. No matter what you own, I'm sure you can find a law restricting what you can do with it. For example, it's illegal to burn many things. Ownership isn't and never is absolute possession.
  • crazygringo 3y ago
    Not really -- real estate is pretty unique in that regard. Property taxes aren't a restriction on use, as you present it -- they're a requirement for continued ownership. I'm not going to go as far as the parent commenter to say it means you don't own it, but I can't think of any other possession where the government takes it away if you don't keep paying. Not books or washing machines or food or anything. Even with vehicles, you need to pay to keep them registered but if you don't you just can't drive them on public roads. They're not taken away from you. So real estate really is in a kind of special "you mostly own it but kinda not entirely".
    • hef19898 3y ago
      In Germany, cars. We pay taxes in car ownership. Thing is so, tax debt or default doesn't lead to the state taking you property away (ultimately yes, but then you are at default for a vwry long time and probably bankcrupt anyway). It just means you have to repay you debt, tax authorities might seize e.g. bank accounts. And even banks prefer refinancing over foreclosures, selling real estate is a risk and work German banks like to avoid.
      • crazygringo 3y ago
        From what I can find online, you don't have to pay that tax if you de-register the car, i.e. no longer use it on public roads. So it's not really any different from vehicle registration in the US. It's not a tax on vehicle ownership, but rather on annual usage of public roads per vehicle.
        • hef19898 3y ago
          True! The vast majority of people so are not collecting cars, hence generaly people tax for the cars they own. You are absolutely right so, as long as you don't use your car on public roads, you don't pay taxes, don't need insurance or TÜV.
    • bryanlarsen 3y ago
      Still disagree. There are lots of things you need to actively spend effort and/or money on that the government will take away if you don't. Pets are one big category of stuff. Dangerous items are another.
      • crazygringo 3y ago
        You're undoing your own point. Your exact words were: > Ownership isn't and never is absolute possession. Actually, it usually mostly is. There are exceptions, but generally speaking it is absolute possession. It's not conditional. It's called property rights for a reason. The fact that you're bringing up exceptions just proves the existence of the rule in the just place. That doesn't mean you can use your property to do harm to others, or that you can bring it anywhere you want, or that it can't be seized if you refuse to pay debts. But most things you actually do simply own, flat-out, unlike real estate with its property tax requirement.
• skywhopper 3y ago
  Given that your property is defined by, supported by, and protected by the government, it makes sense that someone who is stealing from their neighbors by avoiding taxes should probably lose that property.
  • pc86 3y ago
    I'm not saying it's right or wrong, simply pointing out the fact. But I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that your example is someone with the means just choosing not to pay taxes, which are usually pretty small compared to the mortgage payment, especially if it was just recently paid off. But the much, much more common scenario is an older individual, maybe single-income but certainly fixed-income, being priced out by property tax increases.