Since the thread was addressed to me and i am a home owner i have to respond - the law must be struck down.
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I had to read it twice before I caught it!
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If a bank repossesses your home and it auctions for more than you owe, you get the difference back in cash
Same deal in 38 states if the taxman repossesses your home.
But in 12 states it is not so.
EX
Geraldine owed $14,300 she could not pay.
The state (county probably) auctioned her home, got $40,000 for it, and kept the difference. It is definitely unethical and the way they do it is constitutionally questionable.
Government theft, ie mafia government. In many states you can owe 2k in taxes and the state can auction your 250k house and keep the difference, Basically sanctioned theft.
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The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in this case on Wednesday and in fact this was the final argued case of the term.
It appears that the Petitioner has broad support from both the left and right side of court listening to the argument.
Hope she lives long enough to get her money back in person, she being 94 years of age. If not, it would go to her estate. Would at least be nice for her to hear that she won before she dies.
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Is there a way I can listen to the proceeding?
I saw Neal Kaytal on Twitter bragging about arguing his 50th case in front of SCOTUS - and it was this one, arguing for the Respondent.
I couldn’t help but think maybe don’t advertise this one.
Ok, I was writing out another OP and didn’t see your post right away. 
Maybe we need to stop treating property as a landlord/tenant relationship with the government.
If they can take it and sell it, you never really owned it.
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That’s the only kind of ownership that’s ever existed, so you really do own it.
Mmmmmm.
Are you sure about that?
I don’t understand why the owner didn’t sell it herself and use the proceeds to pay off the tax bill. Had she sold it, not only would she have been able to keep the remainder of the proceeds, but she would have likely sold it for way more than 40K.
This is not to say I agree with the government keeping the equity. Not at all.
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There is so much packed into those 3 sentences. And so much missing.
Did she just leave the condo unoccupied? If she was never going to return, she should have sold it right away. Or at least rented it out to cover the carrying costs.
And $2300 in taxes ballooning into an additional 12K in penalties meant that she let this linger for quite a while. That’s a HUGE amount of penalties. Almost 6x the actual tax bill. Clearly she brought the financial problem on herself.
Again, this does not justify the government keeping the remaining equity. Not in the least.
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She got a big win today!
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Link to unanimous Opinion of the Court by the Chief Justice.
Excellent outcome.
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Yes…It is a great Outcome. Hopefully this case goes the same way!
@Safiel I remember you telling me it should be “Sovereign” so I changed the title!
Ah good.
The ephors are on a roll!
It’s a wealth tax.
