i know the popular (and imo correct) view is that charging tax on unrealized gains (e.g. in the stock market) is awful, perhaps immoral. But just a second - how is this any different from charging an annual (not one-off) tax on property/real estate that you own? "Unrealized" just means you continue to hold the asset. Seems like it's exactly the same thing. (And btw I don't live in a country where there's a continual annual property tax myself, but it is indeed a common thing in many countries afaik).