Kevin Tarr wrote: > Actually this has a wider point: you don't own ANY > property, you are just renting it from the government.
That is a gross untruth. When you own property, you have many, many more rights than if you merely rent it. Ownership entitles you to the rights to whatever minerals you happen to dig up, to fair compensation for your property in cases of eminent domain, the ability to sell and/or rent it to others, and a whole host of other rights and responsibilities that renting does not grant. Property tax is just that: a TAX on property, not compensation to someone else for the use of their property. As a tax, it carries the threat of penalties if it is not paid. I'll agree that homeowners associations can be pretty annoying, and I'm glad I don't have to deal with one. But, on the other hand, each exists for a reason, usually to prevent the kind of mixed purpose neighborhoods as described in Texas in a previous post on this thread. -- Matt Grimaldi
