An amusing  tax scheme, framed as a Claiming-race, via Underbelly.

The idea is that the owner must declare what he thinks the the property is worth.    The state then get’s to pick one of two options.  A) collect the tax on the declared value, or  B) buy the property.

The term claim-race comes from horse racing.  It’s apparently common.  Horses in a give race can be purchased for a price tied to that race.  Owners accept that as part of the risk they take when they enter the race.

In the horse race it helps to get horses of about equal quality into the race and relieves the race organizer of assessing quality.  In the tax scheme the state is relieved of assessing the value of the property being taxed (unless they want to exercise option B).  In the example underbelly found of the property in question was cargos passing a toll booth.