this post was submitted on 17 Apr 2026
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Explain Like I'm Five

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Explain Like I am a child ... taxes. I get you pay taxes on goods you buy everyday. And you get said goods by paying a one time fee. But how come on a home after being paid off I still pay taxes...... (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by Patnou@lemmy.world to c/explainlikeimfive@lemmy.world
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I mean I paid for it like I would anything else I wanted. They charge a tax at checkout. So if I buy a house and pay the whole thing off, why do I still have to pay taxes on said house when I paid the whole agreed on price in full? It would be like me buying a six pack of beer I pay for it and tax at checkout. But then timely I have to keep paying taxes on the beer even though paid in full?

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[–] gloog@fedia.io 6 points 2 months ago

Plenty of people have tried to make that argument. Those people typically wind up spending years of their life in prison once their delinquent taxes have built up enough (and losing the property that they were trying to avoid paying taxes on, also).

Anyone who tries to tell you that they've successfully argued in court that the law doesn't apply unless you sign a contract agreeing to it is either just plain lying or got lucky on a small enough case that the judge or prosecution just didn't want to deal with the headache.

By the way, keep in mind that property rights aren't a naturally existing phenomenon. You own your home because the state agrees that you are the rightful owner. Is a different system theoretically possible? Sure, probably, but the state-based enforcement of property ownership is the one that exists today.