In Washington, DC, the %^&& is about to hit the fan on property taxes. The basic residential tax rate is $0.85 per $100 of valuation. There is a class 3 rate which last year was $5/$100, and it has now been raised to $10/$100. This is for vacant properties. It was originally designed to compel people who were neglecting their vacant lots or building to clean and repair them. Now, however, any vacant lot or building can be taxed at that rate, even if it is clean and well maintained. What business is it of the government if one wants to leave a building empty for a while, or wait to build on vacant land? This $10/$100 rate seems to me to be an illegal seizure.
There are a few ways you can get an exemption from this rate. One is to have permits to improve the property. But this exemption is only good for one year. Who, without a lot of money, can get an entire building rehabed in one year, given the f^&*& up bureaucracy in DC. Another taking from people of modest means.