Property Tax Isn't a Tax on Unrealized Gains
Property Tax Isn't a Tax on Unrealized Gains Posted by the Canterbury Democratic Town Committee A post is circulating on Facebook this week that compares property taxes to taxing unrealized stock gains. It's getting shared widely ( et tu COPY & PASTE this to Your page? ). It touches on a real frustration — nobody likes paying more in taxes — but it gets the fundamental mechanics of property tax wrong. That misinformation is worth correcting. What property tax actually is Property tax is not a tax on a gain. It is a cost-sharing mechanism . Every year, Canterbury has to pay for roads, schools, fire protection, emergency services, and town administration. Those costs are real, and someone has to cover them. Property tax is simply how we divide that bill among property owners — proportional to the value of what each owner holds in town. Here's how it works in practice. The town sets a budget — the total it needs to operate. That total is divided by the assessed value of a...