IMO this is even more outrageous than civil asset forfeiture. You get behind on property tax, the government balloons the debt 5x or 10x with fines, then they seize your home and sell it to pay the fines - and keep the profit! In one case mentioned in the article they kept over $200k. And these people have had to go all the way to the Supreme Court to undo this. It is utterly indecent that the government would give itself this power.