Functionally, there’s no difference. The amount they demand is based off your house’s value, and they take it away from you if you don’t pay. The label is just a detail. And it’s not a trivial cost, I inherited a small, aged, worn out house and I pay over $300/mo just to exist in it. The tax office wildly overestimated it’s value and there’s nothing I can do about it.
When you’re renting, you’re always also paying this tax indirectly. Functionally it’s a tax for having a roof over your head, whether you own it or not*. So it has nothing to do with ownership.
I guess you can argue somewhere in the direction of “tax is theft”, but that’s a different discussion.
*kinda opposing my previous statement, I guess it would be more accurate to say that paying the tax directly to the government is kind of a proof of ownership.
Functionally, there’s no difference. The amount they demand is based off your house’s value, and they take it away from you if you don’t pay. The label is just a detail. And it’s not a trivial cost, I inherited a small, aged, worn out house and I pay over $300/mo just to exist in it. The tax office wildly overestimated it’s value and there’s nothing I can do about it.
When you’re renting, you’re always also paying this tax indirectly. Functionally it’s a tax for having a roof over your head, whether you own it or not*. So it has nothing to do with ownership.
I guess you can argue somewhere in the direction of “tax is theft”, but that’s a different discussion.
*kinda opposing my previous statement, I guess it would be more accurate to say that paying the tax directly to the government is kind of a proof of ownership.
It’s interesting to note that Puerto Rico doesn’t have property tax. When you pay off your home, the tax collector’s office just leaves you alone.
That’s nice, I guess they found other ways to fund their government.