Should property taxes be swapped out for something else?

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Ie. compensated in a different way. In the US it seems like they do vary from city to city, state to state, etc.. Some states have smoothing gradients, some don't. The big headache with these though - even if you've paid the bank off free and clear, in many places you're still paying $200 to $300 per month in property taxes and, worse than rent, if someone falls on hard times and can't pay they're out of a home and their equity. In that sense, while having a mortgage is better than renting from the equity point of view you're still stuck half-renting. My hope on this idea; if it were abolished and replaced dollar per dollar if people couldn't pay; at worst they'd lose their utilities but not their house. That and, monthly family expenses might be significantly more manageable; even being underwater might not end up being critical in quite the same way it once was.

What do you think? Would it be a major net positive and can you think of a different sector to levy the tax revenues for local governments? Also, if you were talking about a state level tax is there a way of getting around that caveat for local governments to have their needs met properly?

Just some philosophical exploration here and I'd be curious to get some thoughts.

I'd say get rid of public schools (which is where most property tax revenue goes anyway) and let people use the money to put their kids in the private school of their choice.

They should get rid of all property taxes and income taxes. You and you alone are entitled to the fruit of your labor, allowing these taxes to exist means you are forever a slave to the state and the government is just allowing you to live.

As a philosophical exercise, a straight answer:

Because you will turn into Britain.

What do I mean by that?

In 1066 AD a nasty bunch of chaps invaded Britain and divided the country up between them. They passed on their ill gotten gains down their unbroken family line for the next thousand years.

The end product of the system you propose is that access to resources (land - roof over your head etc) is forever left in the hands of an ever more feckless, inbred and corrupt aristocracy while the productive members of society are reduced to effective slavery.

If you don't believe me try watching a TV series done in Britain called country house rescue, you can be shocked and appalled when you see that there still exists in Britain a class of people who are proud of the fact that no member of their family has had a job in 160 years and they still get to live in multi-million pound mansion. Not only that, they expect help to pay for the upkeep and restoration of the property they squat in.

Is that really the America you want?