[somedudetbh]

Of course, in the USA, outside of California, this is essentially what we do.

We can argue about whether or not it's good, but its not unthinkable. Property taxes in most places (in the USA, the subject of the article) are linked to the current market value of real estate. Sometimes property values rise, taxes follow, and people have to move.

[TimPC]

Property taxes are such a small portion of property value that they seldom force a move. Capital gains can be anywhere from 20-50% depending on country. Having your home go from 800,000 to 1,000,000 and having your property taxes go from 4000 to 5000 a year is very different from having your home go up 200,000 and suddenly owing the government 40,000 to 100,000 dollars.