So you think you own your own home. Or maybe it’s commercial property, or rentals. You think the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution provides protection for the ownership of private property. Perhaps you’ve even heard it said that ownership of private property, and the protections offered for that ownership truly set the United States apart from the rest of the world.

So I ask again: do you think you own your property? Take this easy test. Don’t pay your property taxes for a few years, and see what happens.

That’s right, your property will end up belonging to the government, with your county acting as the front man. This is why I maintain that we all just rent our property from the government. Consider your property tax payments as merely rent.

Interestingly enough, should you suggest to an Idaho legislator that the property tax be done away, he/she will shriek in horror and tell you it would unbalance the famous “three-legged stool ” of Idaho taxation. Those three legs would be property tax, sales tax and income tax. Never mind that many states do not find it necessary to have all three methods of getting into your pocketbook.

Expect more posts on Idaho taxation in the near future.