On Tue, 11 Jun 2013 23:36:11 -0400, Jesse Phillips
<[email protected]> wrote:
On Tuesday, 11 June 2013 at 21:55:48 UTC, Adam D. Ruppe wrote:
...and if you sell it, unless you own multiple houses, you're now
homeless. And housing prices are up, so getting a new house will erase
the gains you got from selling the old house! So I don't think raising
property values makes me wealthier at all.
But when housing cost goes up the government can take more from you on
anything based on your "wealth." Just because you can't pay because your
wealth is all chewed up in material things like a house, who cares!
In the US at least, only home sales (or transfers of ownership, like
inheritance) are taxed. As long as you live there, they will not (and I
believe they cannot) tax you based on the "current value."
Property taxes are different, and you will be paying those no matter how
you live (rent or own).
And you are allowed to transfer equity from your current home into a new
home tax free, even if you gained, up to a certain amount. I think there
are limitations on how many times you can do this...
The tax system is definitely set up to favor the homeowner, not the renter.
-Steve
