LOL! The story is a FANTASTIC example of government rapine and pillage.
They got it back, BTW - after the government got its peepee whacked over its thieving. But they sold it to .gov for a nice chunk of change...
The Feds didnt follow due process, which means there is a process for taking for failure to pay property taxes.
My point is that prop taxes are nothing new in the US.
In some states, you would have to list all your personal belongings yearly and pay a tax on them. I dont know if any states still do that.