A man’s home is his castle. Or, that’s how it’s supposed to be, anyway. Is it really the case, though, when government can breach the castle walls with property-appraisal increases anytime it pleases?
Whose castle is it when you’re essentially paying rent to the government? Whose is it when, if you can’t cough up that rent, your property will be stolen by the state?
Olivia Murray, a homeowner in New York, recently received a letter informing her of an increase in her home’s appraised value to $346,000. When she contacted local government officials, they claimed they could easily lower the appraisal. However, any reduction would save her only $15 annually.
Murray noted that her modest 2,100-square-foot home with an unfinished section is on a block of approximately 12 homes. One neighbor’s house sold for $240,000 months ago but remains unsold. Another property is vacant while its owners wait for improved market conditions. A third has been foreclosed at an auction price of $180,000.
After requesting an appeal with the town board, Murray was notified via mail of her hearing—a day before she was scheduled to appear. She argued for a $250,000 appraisal but received no change; the new appraisal remained at $346,000.
Murray described this as “total fraud because they are fully aware of the specifics.” In 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James accused former President Donald Trump of inflating property values for profit. Economist Walter E. Williams once quipped that if he were a counterfeiter in court, he’d claim his actions were “monetary policy.”
The system highlights how homeowners face annual tax increases based on arbitrarily inflated valuations—despite the fact that their homes may not have appreciated in value. John L. Smith notes that retirees who worked hard to buy homes often sell to downsize but end up paying capital gains taxes on assets that never truly increased in value.
This practice is akin to taxing unrealized capital gains every year. The John Locke Foundation and The Frontier Institute have noted that local governments use mass reassessments as a “strategic financial tool.” Americans for Tax Reform states that inflation provides local governments with windfalls they can use without voter approval.
The 1970s California Tax Revolt, led by Howard Jarvis, highlighted the principle that “inflation should not be a reward for government,” leading to California’s Proposition 13 in 1978. Similarly, between 1839 and 1845, New York tenants launched the Anti-Rent War against patroon landowners.
As one homeowner put it: “Woe betide the peasant who can’t pay his rent.”
