Property Rights and Property Taxesand Countries That Dont Have ThemNick Giambruno, Senior Editor InternationalMan.com I would say that you dont. You would possess such an item, but you wouldnt own itan important distinction. A ridiculous perversion of the concept of ownership and property rights has infected most of the world like a virus: something that most people unquestioningly accept as a normal part of lifelike its a part of the eternal fabric of the cosmos. I am talking about property taxes, of course. You know, the annual tax you pay that is based not on whether any income was generated, but rather on the underlying value of real estate you supposedly own. There is no way to pay off this obligation in one fell swoop; it stays with you for as long as you own the property. In actuality, you dont own anything which you must pay property taxes onyou are merely renting it from the government. Suppose you bought a sofa set and coffee table for your living room for $5,000 cash, and then had the obligation to pay $100or a percentage of the furnitures valuein tax each year for as long as you owned it. Then suppose that for whatever reason youre unable or unwilling to pay your furnitures property tax. It wont take long for the government to swoop in and confiscate it to pay off your delinquent taxes. You get to own it as long as you pay the never-ending annual feestop paying and youll find out who really owns it. While many people would correctly find a furniture property tax absurd, they also illogically find it acceptable for the government to levy an insatiable tax on different assetsnamely their homes, offices, and raw land. But to me at least, the type of asset being taxed is not what makes it absurd, its the concept of property taxes that is absurd. Respect for property rights and property taxes are mutually exclusive concepts. Whats yours is yours, and you shouldnt need to pay the government for permission to keep it. Its not uncommon for people in North America and Europe to pay tens of thousands of dollars per year in property taxes just to live in their own homes. And this burden will almost certainly continue to rise. Property taxes are constantly being raised in most places, especially in places with poor fiscal health. Its very possible that over a lifetime, the total amount of property taxes extracted will exceed what was paid for the underlying property in the first place. And, just like the furniture example above, if you dont pay your property tax (AKA government rent) on the home you thought you owned, it will be confiscated. This is not as uncommon as some would believe. It was estimated that 10,000 people in Pennsylvania alone lose their homes annually because they arent able to keep up with the property taxes. Speaking of sloppy thinking, expect Boobus Americanus to say things like how would we pay for local services like public schools if it werent for property taxes? Of course, these services could be funded in many different waysor better, they could be provided for in the free market. But dont expect that to happen. In fact, given the social, political, and economic dynamics in the US and most of the rest of the West, expect the oppositeproperty taxes have nowhere to go but north. I have previously written that I view real estate in foreign countriesalong with physical gold held abroadas superior vehicles for long-term savings. Heres a list of countries that do not levy any property taxes: Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Nicaraguahave property taxes, but the obligations are generally negligible. The risk, of course, is that since a property tax is already in place in these countries it can easily be increased whenever the government decides it needs more revenue. Case in point: the bankrupt government of Greece. Consider the excerpt below from an article in The Guardian. The joke now doing the rounds is: if you want to punish your child, you threaten to pass on property to them Greeks traditionally have always regarded property as a secure investment. But now it has become a huge millstone, given that the tax burden has increased sevenfold in the past two years alone. The country on the list above that most interests me is the Cayman Islands, but to each his own. This is because most Caymanians are vehemently opposed to all forms of direct taxation and have never had it in their history. That attitude and history is a good guarantor that it will be very unlikely for a property tax to be imposed sometime in the future. In any case, buying foreign real estate is a very individualized and often complex decisionbut one that provides huge diversification benefits. Property taxes are but one consideration. You should look at foreign real estate less as a vehicle for a quick return and more as a diversified long-term store of wealth. Wherever you decide to buy, it should also be in a place that you would actually want to spend some significant time in. That way, the property has value to you, regardless of whether it proves to be a good investment. One expert on foreign real estate whom Id highly recommend is none other than Doug Casey, the original International Man and my mentor. Dougs been to over 175 countries and invested in real estate in a number them. He wrote a thick and detailed chapter on foreign real estate, including his favorite markets, for our Going Global publication, which is a must-read for those interested in this extremely important topic. So in other words, you may be the keeper of your own property, but never the true owner? Thats odd, since the government was created to PROTECT your property and freedoms; never to own them. The US government started(after the revolution of coarse) by taxing businesses to pay for a police force(law and order) and a military(protect from overseas threats). The citizens of the said nation paid a higher price on goods and services(due to taxation) and enjoyed citizenship and more or less peace then by themselves. The Social Contract is Bullshit, thats how tyranny starts 