HOUSE BILL No. 6279 September 17, 2002, Introduced by Reps. Ruth Johnson, Cassis, Newell, Toy, Woronchak, Birkholz, Palmer, Vander Veen, Voorhees, Richardville, Ehardt, Cameron Brown, Meyer, Van Woerkom, Rocca, Caul, Pappageorge, DeRossett and Kooiman and referred to the Committee on Tax Policy. A bill to amend 1973 PA 186, entitled "Tax tribunal act," by amending sections 35, 37, 43, and 62a (MCL 205.735, 205.737, 205.743, and 205.762a), section 35 as amended by 2000 PA 165, section 37 as amended by 1996 PA 505, and section 43 as amended and section 62a as added by 1994 PA 254. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 Sec. 35. (1) A proceeding before the tribunal is original 2 and independent and is considered de novo. For an assessment 3 dispute as to the valuation of property or if an exemption is 4 claimed, the assessment must be protested before the board of 5 review before the tribunal acquires jurisdiction of the dispute 6 under subsection (2), except as otherwise provided in this 7 section for a year in which the July or December board of review 8 has authority to determine a claim of exemption for qualified 07067'02 c FDD 2 1 agricultural property or for an appeal of a denial of a 2homesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE exemption by the department of 3 treasury, and in section 37(5) and (7). For a dispute regarding 4 a determination of a claim for exemption of qualified agricul- 5 tural property for a year in which the July or December board of 6 review has authority to determine a claim of exemption for quali- 7 fied agricultural property, the claim for exemption must be 8 presented to either the July or December board of review before 9 the tribunal acquires jurisdiction of the dispute. For a special 10 assessment dispute, the special assessment must be protested at 11 the hearing held for the purpose of confirming the special 12 assessment roll before the tribunal acquires jurisdiction of the 13 dispute. 14 (2) The jurisdiction of the tribunal in an assessment dis- 15 pute is invoked by a party in interest, as petitioner, filing a 16 written petition on or before June 30 of the tax year involved. 17 Except in the residential property and small claims division, a 18 written petition is considered filed by June 30 of the tax year 19 involved if it is sent by certified mail on or before June 30 of 20 that tax year. In the residential property and small claims 21 division, a written petition is considered filed by June 30 of 22 the tax year involved if it is postmarked by first-class mail or 23 delivered in person on or before June 30 of the tax year 24 involved. All petitions required to be filed or served by a day 25 during which the offices of the tribunal are not open for busi- 26 ness shall be filed by the next business day. In all other 27 matters, the jurisdiction of the tribunal is invoked by a party 07067'02 c 3 1 in interest, as petitioner, filing a written petition within 30 2 days after the final decision, ruling, determination, or order 3 that the petitioner seeks to review, or within 35 days if the 4 appeal is pursuant to section 22(1) of 1941 PA 122, MCL 205.22. 5 Except in the residential property and small claims division, a 6 written petition is considered filed if it is sent by certified 7 mail or delivered in person on or before expiration of the period 8 in which an appeal may be made as provided by law. In the resi- 9 dential and small claims division, a written petition is consid- 10 ered filed if it is postmarked by first-class mail or delivered 11 in person on or before expiration of the period in which an 12 appeal may be made as provided by law. An appeal of a contested 13 tax bill shall be made within 60 days after mailing by the 14 assessment district treasurer and the appeal is limited solely to 15 correcting arithmetic errors or mistakes and is not a basis of 16 appeal as to disputes of valuation of the property, the 17 property's exempt status, or the property's equalized value 18 resulting from equalization of its assessment by the county board 19 of commissioners or the state tax commission. Service of the 20 petition on the respondent shall be by certified mail. For an 21 assessment dispute, service of the petition shall be mailed to 22 the assessor of that governmental unit if the respondent is the 23 local governmental unit. Except for petitions filed under 24 chapter 6, a copy of the petition shall also be sent to the sec- 25 retary of the school board in the local school district in which 26 the property is located and to the clerk of any county that may 27 be affected. 07067'02 c 4 1 (3) The petition or answer may be amended at any time by 2 leave of the tribunal and in compliance with its rules. If a tax 3 was paid while the determination of the right to the tax is pend- 4 ing before the tribunal, the taxpayer may amend his or her peti- 5 tion to seek a refund of that tax. 6 (4) A person or legal entity may appear before the tribunal 7 in his or her own behalf, or may be represented by an attorney or 8 by any other person. 9 Sec. 37. (1) The tribunal shall determine a property's tax- 10 able value pursuant to section 27a of the general property tax 11 act,Act No. 206 of the Public Acts of 1893, being section12211.27a of the Michigan Compiled Laws1893 PA 206, MCL 211.27A. 13 (2) The tribunal shall determine a property's state equal- 14 ized valuation by multiplying its finding of true cash value by a 15 percentage equal to the ratio of the average level of assessment 16 in relation to true cash values in the assessment district, and 17 equalizing that product by application of the equalization factor 18 that is uniformly applicable in the assessment district for the 19 year in question. The property's state equalized valuation shall 20 not exceed 50% of the true cash value of the property on the 21 assessment date. 22 (3) The petitioner has the burden of proof in establishing 23 the true cash value of the property. The assessing agency has 24 the burden of proof in establishing the ratio of the average 25 level of assessments in relation to true cash values in the 26 assessment district and the equalization factor that was 07067'02 c 5 1 uniformly applied in the assessment district for the year in 2 question. 3 (4) If the taxpayer paid additional taxes as a result of the 4 unlawful assessments on the same property after filing the peti- 5 tion, or if in subsequent years an unlawful assessment is made 6 against the same property, the taxpayer, not later than the 7 filing deadline prescribed in section 35(2), except as otherwise 8 provided in subsections (5) and (7), may amend the petition to 9 join all of the claims for a determination of the property's tax- 10 able value, state equalized valuation, or exempt status and for a 11 refund of payments based on the unlawful assessments. The motion 12 to amend the petition to add a subsequent year shall be accom- 13 panied by a motion fee equal to 50% of the filing fee to file a 14 petition to commence an appeal for that property in that year. A 15 sum determined by the tribunal to have been unlawfully paid or 16 underpaid shall bear interest from the date of payment to the 17 date of judgment and the judgment shall bear interest to date of 18 its payment. However, a sum determined by the tribunal to have 19 been underpaid shall not bear interest for any time period prior 20 to 28 days after the tribunal's decision. Interest required by 21 this subsection shall accrue for periods before April 1, 1982 at 22 a rate of 6% per year, shall accrue for periods after 23 March 31, 1982 but before April 1, 1985 at a rate of 12% per 24 year, and shall accrue for periods after March 31, 1985 but 25 before April 1, 1994 at a rate of 9% per year. After March 31, 26 1994 but before January 1, 1996, interest shall accrue at an 27 interest rate set monthly at a per annum rate based on the 07067'02 c 6 1 auction rate of the 91-day discount treasury bill rate for the 2 first Monday in each month, plus 1%. After December 31, 1995, 3 interest shall accrue at an interest rate set each year based on 4 the average auction rate of 91-day discount treasury bills in the 5 immediately preceding state fiscal year as certified by the 6 department of treasury, plus 1%. The department of treasury 7 shall certify the interest rate within 60 days after the end of 8 the immediately preceding fiscal year. The tribunal shall order 9 the refund of all or part of a property tax administration fee 10 paid in connection with taxes that the tribunal determines were 11 unlawfully paid. 12 (5) A motion to amend a petition to add subsequent years is 13 not necessary in the following circumstances: 14 (a) For petitions filed after December 31, 1987, if the tri- 15 bunal has jurisdiction over a petition alleging that the property 16 is exempt from taxation, the appeal for each subsequent year for 17 which an assessment has been established shall be added automati- 18 cally to the petition. However, upon leave of the tribunal, the 19 petitioner or respondent may request that any subsequent year be 20 excluded from appeal at the time of the hearing on the petition. 21 (b) If the residential property and small claims division of 22 the tribunal has jurisdiction over a petition, the appeal for 23 each subsequent year for which an assessment has been established 24 shall be added automatically to the petition. The residential 25 property and small claims division shall automatically add to an 26 appeal of a final determination of a claim for exemption of a 27homesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE or of qualified agricultural 07067'02 c 7 1 property each subsequent year in which a claim for exemption of 2 thathomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE or that qualified agricul- 3 tural property is denied. However, upon leave of the tribunal, 4 the petitioner or respondent may request that any subsequent year 5 be excluded from appeal at the time of the hearing on the 6 petition. 7 (6) The notice of the hearing on a petition shall include a 8 statement advising the petitioner of the right to amend his or 9 her petition to include or exclude subsequent years as provided 10 by subsections (4) and (5). 11 (7) If the final equalization multiplier for the tax year is 12 greater than the tentative multiplier used in preparing the 13 assessment notice and as a result of action of the state board of 14 equalization or county board of commissioners a taxpayer's 15 assessment as equalized is in excess of 50% of true cash value, 16 that person may appeal directly to the tax tribunal without a 17 prior protest before the local board of review. The appeal shall 18 be filed under this subsection on or before the third Monday in 19 August and shall be heard in the same manner as other appeals of 20 the tribunal. An appeal pursuant to this subsection shall not 21 result in an equalized value less than the assessed value multi- 22 plied by the tentative equalization multiplier used in preparing 23 the assessment notice. 24 Sec. 43. (1) If the date set by law for the payment of 25 taxes has passed, the tribunal shall not make a final decision on 26 the entire proceeding until the taxes are paid. This requirement 27 may be waived at the tribunal's discretion. 07067'02 c 8 1 (2) This section only applies to taxes paid under the 2 general property tax act,Act No. 206 of the Public Acts of31893, as amended, being sections 211.1 to 211.157 of the Michigan4Compiled Laws, or Act No. 189 of the Public Acts of 1953, as5amended, being sections 211.181 and 211.182 of the Michigan6Compiled Laws1893 PA 206, MCL 211.1 TO 211.157, OR 1953 PA 189, 7 MCL 211.181 TO 211.182. 8 (3) This section does not apply to an appeal to the residen- 9 tial property and small claims division of the tribunal under 10 section 62a of a denial of a claim for exemption of ahomestead11 PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE or of qualified agricultural property under 12Act No. 206 of the Public Acts of 1893 from taxes levied under13section 1211 of the school code of 1976, Act No. 451 of the14Public Acts of 1976, being section 380.1211 of the Michigan15Compiled LawsTHE GENERAL PROPERTY TAX ACT, 1893 PA 206, MCL 16 211.1 TO 211.157, FROM TAXES LEVIED UNDER SECTION 1211 OF THE 17 REVISED SCHOOL CODE, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1211. 18 Sec. 62a. (1) The residential property and small claims 19 division created under section 61 has exclusive jurisdiction over 20 an appeal of a final determination of a claim for exemption of a 21homesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE by the department of treasury or 22 of qualified agricultural property under the general property tax 23 act,Act No. 206 of the Public Acts of 1893, being24sections 211.1 to 211.157 of the Michigan Compiled Laws1893 PA 25 206, MCL 211.1 TO 211.157, from taxes levied under section 1211 26 of theschool code of 1976, Act No. 451 of the Public Acts of07067'02 c 9 11976, being section 380.1211 of the Michigan Compiled Laws2 REVISED SCHOOL CODE, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1211. 3 (2) An appeal of a final determination of a claim for exemp- 4 tion of ahomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE underAct No. 206 of5the Public Acts of 1893THE GENERAL PROPERTY TAX ACT, 1893 PA 6 206, MCL 211.1 TO 211.157, shall be filed not later than 35 days 7 after the department of treasury determines a claim for 8 exemption. An appeal is considered filed if it is postmarked by 9 first-class mail or delivered in person within 35 days after the 10 department of treasury denies a claim for exemption. 11 (3) An appeal of a final determination of a claim for exemp- 12 tion of qualified agricultural property underAct No. 206 of the13Public Acts of 1893THE GENERAL PROPERTY TAX ACT, 1893 PA 206, 14 MCL 211.1 TO 211.157, shall be filed not later than 30 days after 15 the July or December board of review determines a claim for 16 exemption. An appeal is considered filed if it is postmarked by 17 first-class mail or delivered in person within 30 days after the 18 July or December board of review denies a claim for exemption. 19 Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take 20 effect unless Senate Bill No. _____ or House Bill No. 6283 21 (request no. 07067'02) of the 91st Legislature is enacted into 22 law. 07067'02 c Final page. FDD