August 30, 2006, Introduced by Reps. Angerer, Wojno, Clemente, Sak, Spade, Vagnozzi, Miller, Bennett, Leland, Kathleen Law, Cushingberry, Bieda, Alma Smith, Lemmons, Jr. and Cheeks and referred to the Committee on Tax Policy.
A bill to amend 1893 PA 206, entitled
"The general property tax act,"
by amending section 59 (MCL 211.59), as amended by 2001 PA 97.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 59. (1) A person may pay the taxes, any 1 of the taxes, a
portion of the taxes specified by resolution of the county board of
commissioners, or if a specification is not made by a resolution of
the county board of commissioners, a portion of the taxes approved
by the county treasurer on a parcel or description of property
returned as delinquent, or on an undivided share of a parcel or
description of property returned as delinquent. For taxes levied on
real property before January 1, 1999 and for taxes levied on
personal property, the amount paid under this subsection shall
include interest computed from the March 1 after the taxes were
assessed at the rate of 1% per month or fraction of a month, except
as provided in section 89, and 4% of the delinquent taxes as a
county property tax administration fee that shall be a minimum of
$1.00 per payment of delinquent taxes, except as provided in
section 89. Payment under this subsection shall be made to the
county treasurer of the county in which the property is situated,
at any time before the property is sold at a tax sale held pursuant
to
section 60 , bid off to this state pursuant to section 70, or
forfeited to a county treasurer pursuant to section 78g. The county
treasurer and the treasurer for the local tax collecting unit shall
allocate and distribute the taxes and interest paid proportionately
among the county or local tax collecting unit funds and the
property tax administration fee returned as delinquent under
section 44(6) to the treasurer of the local tax collecting unit who
transmitted the taxes returned as delinquent. For taxes levied
before January 1, 1999, on all descriptions of property with unpaid
taxes on the October 1 before the time prescribed for the sale of a
tax lien on the property, an additional $10.00 shall be charged for
expenses, which shall be a lien on the property. If collected,
$5.00 of this expense charge shall be credited to a restricted
revenue fund of this state, to be known as the delinquent property
tax administration fund, to reimburse this state for the cost of
publishing the lists of property and other expenses, and $5.00
shall belong to the general fund of the county to reimburse the
county for the expense incurred in preparing the list of delinquent
property for sale or forfeiture.
(2) For taxes levied before January 1, 1999, the property tax
administration fee paid to the county treasurer shall be credited
to the general fund of the county and the property tax
administration fee paid to the state treasurer shall be credited to
the delinquent property tax administration fund. Amounts credited
to the general fund of the county shall be used only for the
purposes specified in subsection (6).
(3) For taxes levied before January 1, 1999, and for taxes
levied after December 31, 1998, a county board of commissioners, by
resolution, may provide all of the following for taxes paid before
May
1 in the first year of delinquency for the homestead property
principal residence of a senior citizen, paraplegic, hemiplegic,
quadriplegic, eligible serviceman, eligible veteran, eligible
widow, totally and permanently disabled person, or blind person, as
those persons are defined in chapter 9 of the income tax act of
1967,
1967 PA 281, MCL 206.501 to 206.532, if a claim is was made
before
February 15 in the
immediately preceding tax year for the
credit provided by chapter 9 of the income tax act of 1967, 1967 PA
281,
MCL 206.501 to 206.532, if that claimant presents a copy of
the
form filed for that credit to the county treasurer, and
if
that
claimant has not received the credit before March 1 resides
at the same principal residence as claimed in the immediately
preceding tax year:
(a) Any interest, fee, or penalty in excess of the interest,
fee, or penalty that would have been added if the tax had been paid
before February 15 is waived.
(b) Interest paid under subsection (1) or section 89(1)(a) is
waived unless the interest is pledged to the repayment of
delinquent tax revolving fund notes or payable to the county
delinquent tax revolving fund, in which case the interest shall be
refunded from the general fund of the county.
(c) The county property tax administration fee is waived.
(4) The treasurer of the local tax collecting unit shall
indicate on the delinquent tax roll if a 1% property tax
administration fee was added to taxes collected before February 15.
(5) The fees authorized and collected under this section and
credited to the delinquent property tax administration fund shall
be used by the department of treasury to pay expenses incurred in
the administration of this act.
(6) The county property tax administration fee shall be used
by the county to offset the costs incurred in and ancillary to
collecting delinquent property taxes and for purposes authorized by
sections 87b and 87d.