How a Massachusetts Town Seized a Farmer's $370k Property to Cover a $60k Tax Debt

The practice of keeping the equity of a foreclosed property above and beyond the debt owed is known as home equity theft, and it’s a lot more common than you might think.

Source: How a Massachusetts Town Seized a Farmer's $370k Property to Cover a $60k Tax Debt—and Kept the Change - Foundation for Economic Education

I know that a lot of people roll their eyes when libertarians, anarchists and other anti-tax types refer to taxation as theft but when you realize their true nature and how government wields tax debt as a weapon, it's hard not to see it that way. While laying claim to part of your income before you even receive it is certainly bad, it gets worse...much worse. And of course it isn't just the Federal government. Sometimes state and local governments are the worst offenders. I'm glad that I at least live in an income tax free state.

To make a long story short, this particular farmer was struggling and couldn't pay his property taxes. Part of the problem was that local government put up unnecessary regulatory roadblocks making it so the land was unprofitable. He was prevented from doing some fairly basic thing like adding fencing. In addition, when this particular gentleman fell behind on his taxes, they put up even more hurdles just because his taxes were late. It almost seems malicious doesn't it? To top it all off, once they finally seized the farm, they sold it and kept all the proceeds, not just what the farmer owed. While the farmer owed about $60k, the farm was worth more than five times that. The government kept it all. I'm hard pressed to understand how that isn't theft. Just because it is legal doesn't mean it isn't stealing.

This sort of thing isn't limited to farmers. This can happen with any property you own for any reason. The government won't just take what they decide you owe...they will take everything.