Summary: In contrast with the conventional property tax, which is based on current market value, the acquisition-value property tax is based on the market value of the property at the time it was purchased. A switch to an acquisition-value tax (i) decreases household mobility, (ii) increases the likelihood of home ownership among infrequent movers at the expense of frequent movers, and (iii) attracts infrequent movers and repels frequent movers. We use a simple simulation model to compute the excess burden of the acquisition-value tax. With a tax rate of 3\%, the excess burden is about 4.5\% of tax revenue. The transfer tax has much larger distortionary effects.