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By Jon Coupal and Joshua Polk
Property rights are one of the most fundamental constitutional provisions that protect Americans against government abuse. Unfortunately, these rights are regularly under assault by state and local tax collectors who aggressively target homeowners who have fallen behind on their property tax payments. Constant vigilance is necessary to protect property owners against any government encroachments on constitutional rights.
It is a customary practice for local governments to seize tax delinquent property and sell it off at auction to satisfy a tax debt. What happens next is particularly important. In most states, the government will retain the amount of the tax debt and associated fees from the auction, and then return the excess proceeds from the sale to the homeowner.
But in a handful of states, government agencies sell off the property, then retain the entire amount for their own use. That might be a fortuitous windfall for government, but it is unfair to the homeowners who had built up substantial equity and now find themselves left with nothing.
It is easy to imagine how this “home equity theft,” as it has been described, leads to government abuse, as officials maneuver to seize property based on minor delinquencies or payment discrepancies, instead of working with property owners to allow them to settle their accounts and keep their property.
To read the entire column, please click here.
Jon Coupal is president of Howard Jarvis Taxpayer’s Association and Joshua Polk is an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation.
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