Mark Edge, who is a host on the libertarian leaning nationally syndicated radio talk show Free Talk Live, is planning to sue the city of Keene, New Hampshire.
The suit revolves around an incident where the plaintiff never received a bill from the city for his property taxes.
At this point, it is unclear where the bill was initially sent, but it is likely that it was given to the previous owner as Edge just recently moved into the building.
Instead of trying to contact Mr. Edge in a courteous, customer service oriented manner, the city sent a letter threatening him with a lien on his property while also adding late fees to his bill.
“The first interaction I had with these people regarding the taxes,” Edge claimed on a recent episode of Free Talk Live, “was a threat of a lien [on my property] and I thought this would be a good end to ask some questions about the whole taxation process.”
His questions will revolve around the legitimacy of property taxes and whether or not the city is incorporated. If Keene is, in fact, a corporation he wants to know who the share holders are.
“If [a city] is a plot of land then when did they buy the plot of land, how much did they pay for the plot of land?,” he asks, “If they own the plot of land does that mean I don’t own my property? I thought I owned my property. I certainly didn’t sign any pieces of paper saying that I would pay taxes to these people.”
Is there an inherent obligation to pay taxes? Or do we just pay them because we fear the men with guns that will come after us if we do not pay them? These questions are extremely relevant and poignant in today’s society and are things that many people do not think about on a daily basis.
It will be interesting to see how the city bureaucrats respond, but it seems likely that they may just ignore his questions altogether.