HOUSE BILL No. 4574 April 8, 1997, Introduced by Reps. Hanley, Dobb, Harder, Schermesser, Goschka, Callahan, Tesanovich, Prusi, Kelly, Parks and Anthony and referred to the Committee on Tax Policy. A bill to amend 1893 PA 206, entitled "The general property tax act," by amending section 7cc (MCL 211.7cc), as amended by 1996 PA 476. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 Sec. 7cc. (1) A homestead is exempt from the tax levied by 2 a local school district for school operating purposes to the 3 extent provided under section 1211 of the revised school code, 4Act No. 451 of the Public Acts of 1976, being section 380.12115of the Michigan Compiled Laws1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1211, if an 6 owner of that homestead claims an exemption as provided in this 7 section. Notwithstanding the tax day provided in section 2, the 8 status of property as a homestead shall be determined on the date 9 an affidavit claiming an exemption is filed under subsection 10 (2). 01189'97 FDD 2 1 (2) An owner of property may claim an exemption under this 2 section by filing an affidavit on or before May 1 with the local 3 tax collecting unit in which the property is located. The affi- 4 davit shall state that the property is owned and occupied as a 5 homestead by that owner of the property on the date that the 6 affidavit is signed. The affidavit shall be on a form prescribed 7 by the department of treasury. Beginning in 1995, 1 copy of the 8 affidavit shall be retained by the owner, 1 copy shall be 9 retained by the local tax collecting unit until any appeal or 10 audit period under this act has expired, and 1 copy shall be for- 11 warded to the department of treasury pursuant to subsection (4), 12 together with all information submitted under subsection (22) for 13 a cooperative housing corporation. Beginning in 1995, the affi- 14 davit shall require the owner claiming the exemption to indicate 15 if that owner has claimed another exemption on property in this 16 state that is not rescinded. If the affidavit requires an owner 17 to include a social security number, that owner's number is 18 subject to the disclosure restrictions inAct No. 122 of the19Public Acts of 1941, being sections 205.1 to 205.31 of the20Michigan Compiled Laws1941 PA 122, MCL 205.1 TO 205.31. 21 (3)AEXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN THIS SUBSECTION, A 22 husband and wife who are required to file or who do file a joint 23 Michigan income tax return are entitled to not more than 1 home- 24 stead exemption. IF A HUSBAND AND WIFE WHO ARE REQUIRED TO FILE 25 OR WHO DO FILE A JOINT MICHIGAN INCOME TAX RETURN EACH CLAIMED A 26 HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION IN THE YEAR IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE YEAR IN 27 WHICH THEY ARE MARRIED AND THAT HUSBAND AND WIFE CONTINUE TO OWN 01189'97 3 1 AND OCCUPY BOTH OF THE HOMESTEADS THAT THE HUSBAND AND WIFE HAD 2 CLAIMED IN THE YEAR IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE YEAR IN WHICH THEY 3 ARE MARRIED, THAT HUSBAND AND WIFE MAY CLAIM A HOMESTEAD EXEMP- 4 TION FOR EACH HOMESTEAD IN THE YEAR THAT THEY ARE MARRIED AND IN 5 THE IMMEDIATELY SUCCEEDING YEAR ONLY. 6 (4) Upon receipt of an affidavit filed under subsection (2) 7 and unless the claim is denied under subsection (6), the assessor 8 shall exempt the property from the collection of the tax levied 9 by a local school district for school operating purposes to the 10 extent provided under section 1211 ofAct No. 451 of the Public11Acts of 1976THE REVISED SCHOOL CODE, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1211, 12 as provided in subsection (1) until December 31 of the year in 13 which the property is transferred or is no longer a homestead as 14 defined in section 7dd. The local tax collecting unit shall for- 15 ward copies of affidavits to the department of treasury according 16 to a schedule prescribed by the department of treasury. 17 (5) Not more than 90 days after exempted property is no 18 longer used as a homestead by the owner claiming an exemption, 19 that owner shall rescind the claim of exemption by filing with 20 the local tax collecting unit a rescission form prescribed by the 21 department of treasury. Beginning October 1, 1994, an owner who 22 fails to file a rescission as required by this subsection is 23 subject to a penalty of $5.00 per day for each separate failure 24 beginning after the 90 days have elapsed, up to a maximum of 25 $200.00. This penalty shall be collected underAct No. 122 of26the Public Acts of 19411941 PA 122, MCL 205.1 TO 205.31, and 27 shall be deposited in the state school aid fund established in 01189'97 4 1 section 11 of article IX of the state constitution of 1963. This 2 penalty may be waived by the department of treasury. 3 (6) If the assessor of the local tax collecting unit 4 believes that the property for which an exemption is claimed is 5 not the homestead of the owner claiming the exemption, effective 6 for taxes levied after 1994 the assessor may deny a new or exist- 7 ing claim by notifying the owner and the department of treasury 8 in writing of the reason for the denial and advising the owner 9 that the denial may be appealed to the department of treasury 10 within 35 days after the date of the notice. The denial shall be 11 made on a form prescribed by the department of treasury. If the 12 assessor of the local tax collecting unit believes that the prop- 13 erty for which the exemption is claimed is not the homestead of 14 the owner claiming the exemption, for taxes levied in 1994 the 15 assessor may send a recommendation for denial for any affidavit 16 that is forwarded to the department of treasury stating the rea- 17 sons for the recommendation. If the assessor of the local tax 18 collecting unit believes that the property for which the exemp- 19 tion is claimed is not the homestead of the owner claiming the 20 exemption and has not denied the claim, for taxes levied after 21 1994 the assessor shall include a recommendation for denial with 22 any affidavit that is forwarded to the department of treasury or, 23 for an existing claim, shall send a recommendation for denial to 24 the department of treasury, stating the reasons for the 25 recommendation. 26 (7) The department of treasury shall determine if the 27 property is the homestead of the owner claiming the exemption. 01189'97 5 1 The department of treasury may review the validity of exemptions 2 for the current calendar year and for the 3 immediately preceding 3 calendar years. If the department of treasury determines that 4 the property is not the homestead of the owner claiming the 5 exemption, the department shall send a notice of that determina- 6 tion to the local tax collecting unit and to the owner of the 7 property claiming the exemption, indicating that the claim for 8 exemption is denied, stating the reason for the denial, and 9 advising the owner claiming the exemption of the right to appeal 10 the determination to the department of treasury and what those 11 rights of appeal are. The department of treasury may issue a 12 notice denying a claim if an owner fails to respond within 30 13 days of receipt of a request for information from that 14 department. An owner may appeal the denial of a claim of exemp- 15 tion to the department of treasury within 35 days of receipt of 16 the notice of denial. An appeal to the department of treasury 17 shall be conducted according to the provisions for an informal 18 conference in section 21 ofAct No. 122 of the Public Acts of191941, being section 205.21 of the Michigan Compiled Laws1941 20 PA 122, MCL 205.21. Within 10 days after acknowledging an appeal 21 of a denial of a claim of exemption, the department of treasury 22 shall notify the assessor and the treasurer for the county in 23 which the property is located that an appeal has been filed. 24 Upon receipt of a notice that the department of treasury has 25 denied a claim for exemption, the assessor shall remove the 26 exemption of the property and, if the tax roll is in the local 27 tax collecting unit's possession, amend the tax roll to reflect 01189'97 6 1 the denial and the local treasurer shall issue a corrected tax 2 bill for previously unpaid taxes with interest and penalties com- 3 puted based on the interest and penalties that would have accrued 4 from the date the taxes were originally levied if there had not 5 been an exemption. If the tax roll is in the county treasurer's 6 possession, the tax roll shall be amended to reflect the denial 7 and the county treasurer shall prepare and submit a supplemental 8 tax bill for any additional taxes, together with any interest and 9 penalties. For taxes levied in 1994 only, the county treasurer 10 shall waive any interest and penalties due if the owner pays the 11 supplemental tax bill not more than 30 days after the owner 12 receives the supplemental tax bill. Interest and penalties shall 13 not be assessed for any period before February 14, 1995. 14 However, if the property has been transferred to a bona fide pur- 15 chaser before additional taxes were billed to the seller as a 16 result of the denial of a claim for exemption, the taxes, inter- 17 est, and penalties shall not be billed to the bona fide purchas- 18 er, and the local tax collecting unit if the local tax collecting 19 unit has possession of the tax roll or the county treasurer if 20 the county has possession of the tax roll shall notify the 21 department of treasury of the amount of tax due and interest 22 through the date of that notification. The department of trea- 23 sury shall then assess the owner who claimed the homestead prop- 24 erty tax exemption for the tax and interest plus penalty accruing 25 as a result of the denial of the claim for exemption, if any, as 26 for unpaid taxes provided underAct No. 122 of the Public Acts27of 19411941 PA 122, MCL 205.1 TO 205.31, and shall deposit any 01189'97 7 1 tax, interest, or penalty collected into the state school aid 2 fund. 3 (8) An owner may appeal a final decision of the department 4 of treasury to the residential and small claims division of the 5 Michigan tax tribunal within 35 days of that decision. An asses- 6 sor may appeal a final decision of the department of treasury to 7 the residential and small claims division of the Michigan tax 8 tribunal within 35 days of that decision if the assessor denied 9 the exemption under subsection (6), or, for taxes levied in 1994 10 only, the assessor forwarded a recommendation for denial to the 11 department of treasury under subsection (6). An owner is not 12 required to pay the amount of tax in dispute in order to appeal a 13 denial of a claim of exemption to the department of treasury or 14 to receive a final determination of the residential and small 15 claims division of the Michigan tax tribunal. However, interest 16 and penalties except as provided in subsection (7), if any, shall 17 accrue and be computed based on the interest and penalties that 18 would have accrued from the date the taxes were originally levied 19 as if there had not been an exemption. 20 (9) An affidavit filed by an owner for a homestead rescinds 21 all previous exemptions filed by that owner for any other 22 homestead. The department of treasury shall notify the assessor 23 of the local tax collecting unit in which the property for which 24 a previous exemption was claimed is located that the previous 25 exemption is rescinded by the subsequent affidavit. Upon receipt 26 of notice that an exemption is rescinded, the assessor of the 27 local tax collecting unit shall remove the exemption effective 01189'97 8 1 December 31 of the year in which the property is transferred or 2 is no longer a homestead as defined in section 7dd. The assessor 3 of the local tax collecting unit in which that property is 4 located shall notify the treasurer in possession of the tax roll 5 for a year for which the exemption is rescinded. If the tax roll 6 is in the local tax collecting unit's possession, the tax roll 7 shall be amended to reflect the rescission and the local trea- 8 surer shall prepare and issue a corrected tax bill for previously 9 unpaid taxes with interest and penalties computed based on the 10 interest and penalties that would have accrued from the date the 11 taxes were originally levied if there had not been an exemption 12 for that year. If the tax roll is in the county treasurer's pos- 13 session, the tax roll shall be amended to reflect the rescission 14 and the county treasurer shall prepare and submit a supplemental 15 tax bill for any additional taxes, together with any interest and 16 penalties. However, if the property has been transferred to a 17 bona fide purchaser, the taxes, interest, and penalties shall not 18 be billed to the bona fide purchaser, and the local tax collect- 19 ing unit if the local tax collecting unit has possession of the 20 tax roll or the county treasurer if the county has possession of 21 the tax roll shall notify the department of treasury of the 22 amount of tax due and interest through the date of that 23 notification. The department of treasury shall then assess the 24 owner who received the homestead property tax exemption when the 25 property was not a homestead as defined in section 7dd for the 26 tax and interest plus penalty accruing, if any, as for unpaid 27 taxes provided underAct No. 122 of the Public Acts of 194101189'97 9 1 1941 PA 122, MCL 205.1 TO 205.31, and shall deposit any tax, 2 interest, or penalty collected into the state school aid fund. 3 (10) An owner of property for which a claim of exemption is 4 rescinded may appeal that rescission with either the July or 5 December board of review in either the year for which the exemp- 6 tion is rescinded or in the immediately succeeding year. If an 7 appeal of a rescission of a claim for exemption is received not 8 later than 5 days prior to the date of the December board of 9 review, the local tax collecting unit shall convene a December 10 board of review and consider the appeal pursuant to this section 11 and section 53b. An owner of property for which a claim of 12 exemption is rescinded may appeal the decision of the board of 13 review to the residential and small claims division of the 14 Michigan tax tribunal within 35 days of that decision. 15 (11) If the homestead is part of a unit in a multiple-unit 16 dwelling or a dwelling unit in a multiple-purpose structure, an 17 owner shall claim an exemption for only that portion of the total 18 taxable value of the property used as the homestead of that owner 19 in a manner prescribed by the department of treasury. If a por- 20 tion of a parcel for which the owner claims an exemption is used 21 for a purpose other than as a homestead, the owner shall claim an 22 exemption for only that portion of the taxable value of the prop- 23 erty used as the homestead of that owner in a manner prescribed 24 by the department of treasury. 25 (12) When a county register of deeds records a transfer of 26 ownership of a property, he or she shall notify the local tax 01189'97 10 1 collecting unit in which the property is located of the 2 transfer. 3 (13) The department of treasury shall make available the 4 affidavit forms and the forms to rescind an exemption, which may 5 be on the same form, to all city and township assessors, county 6 equalization officers, county registers of deeds, and closing 7 agents. A person who prepares a closing statement for the sale 8 of property shall provide affidavit and rescission forms to the 9 buyer and seller at the closing and, if requested by the buyer or 10 seller after execution by the buyer or seller, shall file the 11 forms with the local tax collecting unit in which the property is 12 located. If a closing statement preparer fails to provide home- 13 stead exemption affidavit and rescission forms to the buyer and 14 seller, or fails to file the affidavit and rescission forms with 15 the local tax collecting unit if requested by the buyer or 16 seller, the buyer may appeal to the department of treasury within 17 30 days of notice to the buyer that an exemption was not 18 recorded. If the department of treasury determines that the 19 buyer qualifies for the exemption, the department of treasury 20 shall notify the assessor of the local tax collecting unit that 21 the exemption is granted and the assessor of the local tax col- 22 lecting unit or, if the tax roll is in the possession of the 23 county treasurer, the county treasurer shall correct the tax roll 24 to reflect the exemption. This subsection does not create a 25 cause of action at law or in equity against a closing statement 26 preparer who fails to provide homestead exemption affidavit and 27 rescission forms to a buyer and seller or who fails to file the 01189'97 11 1 affidavit and rescission forms with the local tax collecting unit 2 when requested to do so by the buyer or seller. 3 (14) An owner who owned and occupied a homestead on May 1 4 for which the exemption was not on the tax roll may file an 5 appeal with the July board of review in the year for which the 6 exemption was claimed or the immediately succeeding year or with 7 the December board of review in the year for which the exemption 8 was claimed or the immediately succeeding year. If an appeal of 9 a claim for exemption that was not on the tax roll is received 10 not later than 5 days prior to the date of the December board of 11 review, the local tax collecting unit shall convene a December 12 board of review and consider the appeal pursuant to this section 13 and section 53b. 14 (15) In 1994 only, an owner who owns and occupies a home- 15 stead after May 1 and before October 3 for which an affidavit was 16 not filed in 1994 may file an affidavit as provided in subsection 17 (2) not later than October 3, 1994. Upon receipt, the assessor 18 shall exempt the property from 50% of the number of mills levied 19 in 1994 under section 1211 ofAct No. 451 of the Public Acts of201976THE REVISED SCHOOL CODE, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1211, from 21 which homesteads are exempt, not to exceed 50% of the total 22 number of mills from which homesteads are exempt in 1994, on the 23 December tax roll. If there is not a December levy of the tax 24 under section 1211 ofAct No. 451 of the Public Acts of 197625 THE REVISED SCHOOL CODE, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1211, the owner may 26 appear in person or by mail before the December board of review 27 and obtain a rebate as provided in section 53b of 50% of the 01189'97 12 1 number of mills levied in 1994 under section 1211 ofAct No. 4512of the Public Acts of 1976THE REVISED SCHOOL CODE, 1976 PA 451, 3 MCL 380.1211, from which homesteads are exempt, not to exceed 50% 4 of the total number of mills from which homesteads are exempt in 5 1994. If an affidavit is not filed as provided in this subsec- 6 tion, the owner may appear in person or by mail before the July 7 or December board of review in 1994 or the July or December board 8 of review in 1995 and obtain a rebate of 50% of the number of 9 mills levied in 1994 under section 1211 ofAct No. 451 of the10Public Acts of 1976THE REVISED SCHOOL CODE, 1976 PA 451, 11 MCL 380.1211, from which homesteads are exempt, not to exceed 50% 12 of the total number of mills from which homesteads are exempt in 13 1994. This subsection does not apply unless the 1994 assessment 14 of the property is based on the valuation of a homestead or a 15 portion of a structure that has become a homestead. An affidavit 16 filed under this subsection is subject to all the provisions of 17 this section. 18 (16) An owner who owns and occupies a homestead for which 19 the exemption was on the tax roll in 1995 and each year after 20 1995 and for which an exemption was not on the tax roll in 1994 21 may appeal to the department of treasury before December 31, 1997 22 to have an exemption placed on the 1994 tax roll if all of the 23 following conditions are satisfied: 24 (a) The owner owned and occupied that homestead on May 1, 25 1994 or the owner owned and occupied that homestead after May 1, 26 1994 but before October 3, 1994. 01189'97 13 1 (b) If a claim of exemption was denied in 1994, the owner 2 did not timely appeal that denial as provided in this section. 3 (c) The owner has owned and occupied that homestead since 4 1994. 5 (17) If the department of treasury grants a claim of exemp- 6 tion for 1994 under subsection (16), the county treasurer with 7 possession of the tax roll being adjusted shall amend the 1994 8 tax roll to reflect the exemption and shall issue a corrected tax 9 bill as follows: 10 (a) If the owner owned and occupied that homestead on May 1, 11 1994, that homestead is exempt from the tax levied in 1994 for 12 school operating purposes to the extent provided under 13 section 1211 ofAct No. 451 of the Public Acts of 1976THE 14 REVISED SCHOOL CODE, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1211, pursuant to 15 subsection (1). 16 (b) If the owner owned and occupied that homestead after May 17 1, 1994 but before October 3, 1994, that homestead is exempt from 18 50% of the number of mills levied in 1994 under section 1211 of 19Act No. 451 of the Public Acts of 1976THE REVISED SCHOOL CODE, 20 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1211, pursuant to subsection (14). 21 (18) If the department of treasury denies a claim of exemp- 22 tion for 1994 under subsection (16), an owner may appeal that 23 denial to the residential and small claims division of the 24 Michigan tax tribunal within 35 days of that denial. 25 (19) If the assessor or treasurer of the local tax collect- 26 ing unit believes that the department of treasury erroneously 27 denied a claim for exemption, the assessor or treasurer may 01189'97 14 1 submit written information supporting the owner's claim for 2 exemption to the department of treasury within 35 days of the 3 owner's receipt of the notice denying the claim for exemption. 4 If, after reviewing the information provided, the department of 5 treasury determines that the claim for exemption was erroneously 6 denied, the department of treasury shall grant the exemption and 7 the tax roll shall be amended to reflect the exemption. 8 (20) If granting the exemption under this section results in 9 an overpayment of the tax, a rebate, including any interest paid, 10 shall be made to the taxpayer by the local tax collecting unit if 11 the local tax collecting unit has possession of the tax roll or 12 by the county treasurer if the county has possession of the tax 13 roll within 30 days of the date the exemption is granted. The 14 rebate shall be without interest. 15 (21) If an exemption under this section is erroneously 16 granted, an owner may request in writing that the department of 17 treasury withdraw the exemption. If an owner requests that an 18 exemption be withdrawn, the department of treasury shall issue an 19 order notifying the local assessor that the exemption issued 20 under this section has been denied based on the owner's request. 21 If an exemption is withdrawn, the property that had been subject 22 to that exemption shall be immediately placed on the tax roll by 23 the local tax collecting unit if the local tax collecting unit 24 has possession of the tax roll or by the county treasurer if the 25 county has possession of the tax roll as though the exemption had 26 not been granted. A corrected tax bill shall be issued for the 27 tax year being adjusted by the local tax collecting unit if the 01189'97 15 1 local tax collecting unit has possession of the tax roll or by 2 the county treasurer if the county has possession of the tax 3 roll. If an owner requests that an exemption under this section 4 be withdrawn before that owner is contacted in writing by either 5 the local assessor or the department of treasury regarding that 6 owner's eligibility for the exemption and that owner pays the 7 corrected tax bill issued under this subsection within 30 days 8 after the corrected tax bill is issued, that owner is not liable 9 for any penalty or interest on the additional tax. An owner who 10 pays a corrected tax bill issued under this subsection more than 11 30 days after the corrected tax bill is issued is liable for the 12 penalties and interest that would have accrued if the exemption 13 had not been granted from the date the taxes were originally 14 levied. 15 (22) For tax years beginning on and after January 1, 1994, a 16 cooperative housing corporation is entitled to a full or partial 17 exemption under this section for the tax year in which the coop- 18 erative housing corporation files all of the following with the 19 local tax collecting unit in which the cooperative housing corpo- 20 ration is located if filed on or before May 1 of the tax year, or 21 for the tax year following the year in which all of the following 22 are filed if filed after May 1 of the tax year: 23 (a) An affidavit form. 24 (b) A statement of the total number of units owned by the 25 cooperative housing corporation and occupied as the principal 26 residence of a tenant stockholder as of the date of the filing 27 under this subsection. 01189'97 16 1 (c) A list that includes the name, address, and social 2 security number of each tenant stockholder of the cooperative 3 housing corporation occupying a unit in the cooperative housing 4 corporation as his or her principal residence as of the date of 5 the filing under this subsection. 6 (d) A statement of the total number of units of the coopera- 7 tive housing corporation on which an exemption under this section 8 was claimed and that were transferred in the tax year immediately 9 preceding the tax year in which the filing under this section was 10 made. 01189'97 Final page. 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