March 17, 2011, Introduced by Senators CASWELL, BRANDENBURG, COLBECK, CASPERSON, EMMONS, MEEKHOF, PROOS, GREEN, BOOHER and KAHN and referred to the Committee on Finance.
A bill to amend 1893 PA 206, entitled
"The general property tax act,"
by amending section 56a (MCL 211.56a), as amended by 1998 PA 435.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 56a. (1) If a tax levied on personal property remains
uncollected for more than 5 years after that tax becomes
delinquent,
the township or city treasurer
of the local tax
collecting unit shall prepare a statement showing all of the
following:
(a) The taxes levied upon personal property that remain
unpaid.
(b) The names of the persons against whom those taxes were
assessed.
(c) The amount assessed against each person that remains
uncollected, together with all fees, penalties, and interest due
under this act or under a city or township charter.
(2) The original copy of the statement prepared pursuant to
subsection
(1) shall be filed with the circuit court of the county
in
which the township or city is located governing body of the
local
tax collecting unit, together with a
petition. Two or more
township
or city treasurers may file a joint petition under this
section.
(3) The petition shall state all of the following:
(a) That the taxes upon personal property as shown in the
statement have remained unpaid for more than 5 years after they
were returned to the county treasurer as delinquent.
(b) That the taxes have remained delinquent despite the fact
that
the township or city treasurer
of the local tax collecting
unit or his or her predecessors in office exercised due diligence
in an effort to collect the taxes.
(c)
The taxes are, to the township or city local tax
collecting unit treasurer's best knowledge and information,
uncollectible.
(4) The petition shall request that a date, not less than 30
nor more than 45 days after the date of filing the petition, be set
for
a hearing on the petition and that the court enter a judgment
in
favor of the township or city, striking governing body of the
local tax collecting unit, by resolution adopted by a majority of
the members elected to and serving, strike those taxes from the tax
rolls
of the county and township or city local tax collecting unit
and of the county in which the local tax collecting unit is
located. If a judgment is entered in favor of the
township or city,
the
resolution is adopted under
this subsection, all of the
following shall occur:
(a) The taxes in the statement shall cease to constitute an
asset
of the township or city local
tax collecting unit, the county
in
which the township or city local
tax collecting unit is located,
and any school district or other taxing entity in which the
personal property was located at the time it was assessed for
taxes.
(b) The debt created under this act or under any city or
township charter of the person assessed for those taxes to the
local tax collecting unit shall, from the date of adoption of the
resolution under this subsection, assume the status of a debt
against which the statute of limitations has run.
(5)
The township or city treasurer
of the local tax collecting
unit shall, not less than 10 days before the date set
by the
circuit
court for of the hearing
under subsection (4), notify the
county treasurer and the clerk or secretary of any school district
in which any personal property may have been located at the time it
was
assessed for taxes that a petition was filed with the circuit
court
governing body of the local
tax collecting unit under this
section, that the statement required under this section was
prepared, and the date set for the hearing on the petition.
(6)
Within 15 days after the hearing on the petition, the
court
shall enter a judgment that as to all items or personal taxes
set
forth in the statement of uncollected taxes filed with the
court
for which the township or city treasurer and his or her
predecessors
in office have exercised due diligence in an effort to
collect
the taxes upon that personal property, those taxes shall be
stricken
from the tax rolls of the county and of the township or
city
and shall cease to constitute an asset of the township or
city,
the county in which the township or city is located, and any
school
district in which the personal property was located at the
time
it was assessed for taxes, and that the debt created by the
provisions
of this act or by any city charter of the person
assessed
for those taxes to the township or city shall, from the
date
of entry of the judgment, assume the status of a debt against
which
the statute of limitations has run.
(6) (7)
A copy of the judgment resolution
adopted under
subsection (4) shall be served upon the county clerk, the clerk of
the
township or city local tax
collecting unit, and the clerk or
secretary
of each school district located in the township or city
local tax collecting unit.
(7) (8)
In a county in which the county treasurer collects
delinquent personal property taxes as provided in section 56, the
county treasurer shall undertake and carry out all of the
proceedings to strike delinquent personal property taxes from the
county tax rolls as provided in this section.