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by coryrc 784 days ago
You could delay the tax collection above a certain amount until sale of the property. But I'm against allowing people to sit on valuable property while contributing little back to society. Get a reverse mortgage or move out.
2 comments

Delaying the collection has weird side effects and edge cases where if you hold on to the property long enough you could get into a position where you will actually lose money selling it, or worse yet even have to write a check to the government when you sell your house.

I would agree in general that if you can't afford the market-rate property taxes on your home, you should move. And stuff like Prop 13 just makes your neighbors subsidize you.

Nobody should be forced to move due to their home increasing in value outside their control.
I see this argued a lot but never with any reason why other than hand-wavey arguments about "fairness." Why are high property taxes pricing someone out of area inherently worse than property values or insurance costs forcing someone out?

If you can't afford to live there, shouldn't you have to live somewhere else? Even if you think housing is a human right, housing in the specific city/neighborhood/suburb/street of your choice is not.

Economics ignore anything that's uncountable like life enjoyment or community ties. People who have lived somewhere long enough for prices to have spiralled out of control likely score high on those measures. Kicking people out of a life and community they not only enjoy, but probably even define them, is in my opinion barbaric.
I think it should be something close to a right to continue living in your primary residence until you pass away. Being forced to move against your will is a difficult and traumatic experience, especially if you’re older and rely on a local support network.