Washington Post: They couldn’t pay their taxes, so D.C. took it all. Unconstitutionally.

Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the government violates the Constitution when it takes property to pay a tax debt and keeps more than what is owed. That landmark decision affirmed the importance of private property rights.

But, apparently, Washington, D.C., officials didn’t get the message — or worse yet, are choosing to ignore the court’s decision. D.C. law still does not comply with the ruling, allowing the government and investors to take the entire value of a home as payment for much smaller debts.

Now that law is being challenged in court.

In the District case, the Powell family fell behind on paying property taxes on their home after a series of deaths in the family. The remaining family members have struggled to pick up the pieces ever since, especially after they were caught up by the District’s shockingly punitive tax law.

The Powell home, assessed at more than $713,000, has belonged to the family for almost a century. Mattie and Gaston Powell Sr., the original owners, left the house to their children, all of whom are now elderly or deceased. One son lived in the house until he died in 2020, during the covid pandemic. Shortly after, the District labeled the house “vacant,” causing the property taxes to skyrocket from roughly $5,000 per year to $30,000 per year.

At the same time, Gaston Powell Jr. — the eldest son, who had been managing the property for his siblings since their father’s death — became sick and died after a two-year fight with cancer. During Gaston Jr.’s illness, another sibling took over paying the taxes; however, the $30,000-per-year bills quickly mounted, with late penalties and 18 percent interest on the overdue amounts. The annual tax rate doubled again (now to more than $71,000 per year) when the District later deemed the property “blighted.”

The family made a valiant effort to save the house but could not keep up. When the delinquent tax bill reached $41,733, the city sold the tax debt to a private investment company. Under D.C. law, that company can collect 18 percent interest on the debt, and if the debt is not paid, it can foreclose and take the whole property — including all the home equity — for itself.

Yet the 2023 Supreme Court case Tyler v. Hennepin County held that the Constitution forbids such confiscations. In that case, Hennepin County, Minnesota, took 94-year-old Geraldine Tyler’s condo to pay $2,300 in property taxes, plus almost $13,000 in penalties, interest, fees and costs. The county sold the condo for $40,000 and kept every penny — $25,000 more than Tyler’s total debt.

The Supreme Court unanimously held that the county government had violated the Constitution by taking more than what Tyler owed: “A taxpayer who loses her $40,000 house to the State to fulfill a $15,000 tax debt has made a far greater contribution to the public fisc than she owed. The taxpayer must render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, but no more,” the decision read.

Juanita Powell — Gaston Jr.’s 85-year-old widow — is now asking the District’s Superior Court to ensure that the city adhere to the Tyler decision. And she is asking the court to protect her family from unconstitutionally excessive vacant and blighted property “taxes,” which are thinly disguised fines that prevented her family from repairing the house and finding a renter or buyer for the property.

There is no reason for D.C. (or Congress) to wait for the Superior Court to enforce the Constitution. D.C. law should be fixed quickly to protect all property owners from unconstitutional and unjust taking of their generational wealth. The District has not yet responded to the Powell lawsuit, but so far, it has not given any indication that it plans to fix its laws.

Thanks to Tyler, most states with similar predatory tax foreclosure laws have passed legislation to better protect property rights. D.C. ought to do the same. Indeed, it has an easy solution at hand, since its laws already protect home equity from such confiscation in owner-occupied homes. The city could simply extend that law to cover all properties. But if the District fails to act soon, Congress should step in to ensure compliance with the Constitution.

These reforms are especially important to protect vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and the ill, who — as the Powell family’s story shows — are far more likely to fall behind on property taxes as medical bills and infirmities take their toll.

To be sure, homeowners are required to pay taxes on their property and the government can, as a last resort, seize property to satisfy unpaid tax debts. But, according to Tyler, it can’t take more than it’s owed.

It’s time for our nation’s capital to comply with that common-sense rule.

This op-ed was originally published in The Washington Post on July 24, 2025.