The tax on home equity is incredibly confiscatory where I live (Texas). In my county if you own a $300,000 house and have 20% equity ($60K), your taxes can be as much as $9k a year. That amounts to a 15% tax on your home equity. A fifteen percent tax on an asset-a penalty for simply owning something. And God forbid if you want to fix up your house or add an addition--there is a built-in penalty. Your taxes will go up. And of course, if you do not pay, the tax collector will eventually show up at your house with guns to drive you out. So, who owns the house, exactly? And they call the US a free country . . . .