How would you feel if a national border ran through your home?

[purplepoppy]

The picture shows the Netherlands/Belgium border. As you can see it runs through a person's house, and it's far from the only one.

But how would you feel with a border through your house? Would you send the kids to the other country if they misbehaved? Sleep over the border if your partner pissed you off? Build a big beautiful wall?

[mstbooblover]

Having a country border running through my house is something I'd avoid as the pest. Sure is that smugglers and drug dealers would know how to take advantage of some particular different laws.

On a smaller scale, long ago, my wife and I lived through a similar situation by having bought in Brussels a charming little house situated precisely on the border of two communes: Schaerbeek and Saint-Josse. Needless to say that both communes took advantage by both separately collecting taxes on two separate cadastral incomes.

This reminds me a bit of Kafka situations... We sold that house seven years later to move to another but single commune ;0)

[CalmUntilAbused]

So... That's a Netherlands/Belgium border, which is pretty meaningless with the Schengen zone in place.

Now, if I lived in a house on, say, the Polish/Russian border... I'd use it in order to evade the Polish taxes. I'd just cross over to the Russian side of my house whenever threatened and watch the Polish IRS thugs calculate whether it makes sense to start a war with Russia for the sole purpose of collecting my taxes/putting me in jail.

What's more, I might strike a deal with some Muslim immigrants - I'd shelter them in the Russian side of my house and possibly pay them some money, while they would work as my security against the Polish IRS thugs, the GROM special forces that might be subcontracted by the Polish IRS thugs to get to me, or any other people who might pose a threat to me, and I might even set them on either specific feminist figures or actual feminist parades within Poland to solve the Polish feminism problem.

[katiesmuff]

Would be a very odd situation which I wouldn't want. I am not even sure how that can be possible, but then again I remember once being in a restaurant once where they had alcohol on one side but not the other as part was on county land where the other half was in a towns city limits.

[FreyaRed]

Imagine when property tax is top pay, you get demands from two countries.

[Anonymous]

So, you have to pay taxes to two nations?

Also, this is a side thing I don’t like borders. We cut up land and we place governments in charge of the land decided long ago from purchases, treaties, or whatever and all this does is create problems for people of the world.
Governments clamping down on freedoms, the world making it hard for those to simply walk over, sail over, or fly over to a new land that grants them things that their home doesn’t often to protect their families. Would be made easier if borders didn’t exist.

Not to mention the countries that burn their resources like money to prop up a border, only to end up being a failed state due to size, influence being too large to police plus stretching resources thin.

[RavVid]

Interesting. I don't know much about EU tax regimes but individual countries seem to have their own tax regimes given that map you published to us.

So my curiosity is can the householder choose to fill in tax forms on the less taxed side of his house? A quick check shows that it could be 4% less tax on the Netherlands side if at the top rate.

That could be a major sales feature that makes such a house more valuable.

[exitseven]

it woild suck if I had to pay taxes to two countries. I would probably turn it into a tourist attraction.

[Iron_Man]

They’ll have to give me top dollar to buy me out triple the value. I wouldn’t be happy with the illegal immigrants passing through my house Coming in my backyard, jumping over the wood fence. 🦧

[AviatorTom]

I'd turn it into a moneymaker by selling tickets to tourists.

[EpilepticGoth]

NGL, that'd be pretty cool. If one item you gotta buy is cheaper in the other country, just cross the line and use your address for that country. Or even better, steal something in one country then hide from feds in another country by sitting on the couch. 😂

[Kelly6]

@purplepoppy its also in Canada and US border.

sleep in US, wake up and cook breakfast in Canada lol

[MrChinaski]

Are you exempt from tariffs taking your eggs from the fridge to the frying pan?

What if you don't like eggs? What if you like automotive parts? Build a big enough house on the border and you can circumvent all of Trump's crazy tariffs?

[Kelly6]

@MrChinaski I don’t export to US lol

[MrChinaski]

What happens in Holland, stays in Holland, right? It's like Vegas.

[Telekinetic-Potato]

I like how it goes through the door so depending on where you knock different laws apply

[FunkyMonkee]

Where are you going, dear?
I'm just going over to Mexico to get something to eat.
Okay, I'll be here in America getting a shower.

[Ill_made_Knight]

just keep customs and immigration out of my bedroom... m'kay?

[NoDecision]

That would be great! I could charge rent to two different people for one room. Ka-ching! 🤑

[ArrowheadSW]

I'd have to carry my passport with me at all times! I'd be crossing the border daily! LOL...

[NathanDavis]

I'm already a dual national so... I'd feel quit at home

[Staximus]

So the laws and possibly taxes are different on either side of the house? No thanks, the hell with that

[Alex-Snow]

It would be fun to have sex in two countries at the same time!

[RFC1872]

That would have been a problem before the formation of the EU.

[zagor]

Fortunately they're both in the EU so they won't need a passport to use the bathroom.

[Anonymous]

It would be kinda cool. I could easily leave my lousy country for good.

[robocop666]

as long as taxes are not a problem and visa most people dont care

[Tooredpilledtohandle]

The country it belongs to depends on where the front door is but the boarder runs straight through the middle on the place. Interesting.

[Dargil]

I'd have split feelings about it.

[Chazmatazz269]

https://youtu.be/g-4-gLlF0uw?is=-DPphTz24aJx-yVR

[Dargil]

@Chazmatazz269 While you are at it, take my (ex) wife, Please.

[Paige2006]

Does that really happen?

[purplepoppy]

More than you'd think

[Paris13]

Hell No!!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[jshm2]

Have fun with it.

[Drumlin2001]

How does council tax work? Or income tax?

[Shiprex]

I'd set up a toll and charge folk to cross.

[ChicoFromThe305]

I will demand citizenship for both countries lol

[KostasKouvalis]

That would be really cool

[Anonymous]

Live in two countries then lol

[Agape93]

Id be amused af

[Iron_Man]

What would you do if they’re coming through your backyard jumping the fence?

[Agape93]

Lol they're either gonna pay me or ill let my guard dogs out.

[Iron_Man]

You have to keep an eye out on them. They sneak over the border into your backyard and I’m sure that your guard dogs will take care of them. If not, then you can do it your way and you can make them the gimp. Lol

[Agape93]

Lol wrong people cross over and they'll get the vlad tepes treatment

[Iron_Man]

Yikes 😳 lol

[chubbyruya35]

Hmm see