ya know, if they can take his house and auction it off to pay a measly $134 bill, they can come in and take his television set and sell it on craig’s list to pay the debt. but they didn’t think to do that though, did they? Oh no. Those criminal SOBs went right for his house. If we’re a nation of laws and representatives, our representatives need to pass a law that makes it illegal for the government to seize a man’s house over tax debts. ever. period. end of story. That sounds very reasonable to me and like something that conservatives and liberals might actually be able to agree on scarily enough.
I live on a river in upstate NY and the taxes, especially for “water front” are absurd. The worst thing was when they reassessed the value of everyone’s home at the height of the housing bubble and then the Democrat Mayor ran for reelection saying no increase in the property tax RATE and the morons fell for it, even though their tax bill went up because their home was deemed worth more. Our County tax rate actually decreased because Republicans hold the county. But when the housing market fell flat did they reassess? No. So we had neighbors that borrowed the max amount against their home and then put it up for sale. Ended up being foreclosed on, they declared bankruptcy, and the house sold at
short sale for $100,000 less then assessed by the Town, but the bank said that's what it was worth in the new housing market. But those new homeowners are still paying tax on the home as if it were worth $100,000 more! It's ridiculous. In a nearby city, they amended their law to make homes assessed for what they were sold for because nobody would buy.
Sorry I went off on a rant! You're right, they could have done lots of things to get $134. But that's not really what they wanted! Does anyone with civility work in even local government anymore?