Indiana

CON LAW 101

By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

My anti-property tax friends are on the warpath these days over a lack of a repeal of property taxes.  They’ve listed a litany of complaints about the current system, but one minor point of constitutional law I submit to you they are somewhat misguided. 

They argue that Article One,  Section 22 of the Indiana Constitution forbids the state from enacting “the seizure and sale of homes for payment of taxes.”   That is not what the article says.  Section 22 reads as follows…

The privilege of the debtor to enjoy the necessary comforts of life, shall be recognized by wholesome laws, exempting a reasonable amount of property from seizure or sale, for the payment of any debt or liability hereafter contracted: and there shall be no imprisonment for debt, except in case of fraud.

This does not mean that the government cannot seize a home or property for an individual’s failure to pay taxes.  What this means is that you have a right to keep a certain amount of your property even when you don’t pay your taxes. 

I respect my anti-property tax friends’ passion for this issue, but I thought a point of clarification was in order.

Full post as published by Indiana Barrister on January 23, 2008 (boomark / email).