County Says Seizing Home Over $8.41 Tax Debt Was OK Because Counties Need Money

GURPS

INGSOC
PREMO Member
That telling moment came in the midst of a back-and-forth between Justice Richard Bernstein and John Bursch, the attorney representing Oakland County. In trying to defend the county's right to seize the full value of Rafaeli's property over a minuscule debt, Bursch had argued that it was impossible for local governments to compensate all homeowners who had been caught in similar circumstances. The price tag, he estimated, would be more than $2 billion statewide.

Rafaeli's situation is awful but hardly unique: Under the terms of a state law passed in 1999, county treasurers in Michigan are allowed to seize properties with unpaid taxes, settle the debt, and keep the remainder for their own budgets. The Pacific Legal Foundation, a nonprofit law firm, is challenging that law, arguing it violates provisions in both the Michigan and U.S. Constitutions.

"A ruling for the plaintiffs will ruin local governments," warned Bursch. "That will come right out of schools, roads, firefighters, and other basic services."

Bernstein wasn't buying it.

"The interpretation you gave was very dramatic: that this is going to end schools, and the counties are going to crumble, and society is just going to implode," said Bernstein, interrupting Bursch. "You have a situation where a person owed $8 and lost their house. I mean, how is that equitable?"



https://reason.com/2019/11/08/count...-tax-debt-was-ok-because-counties-need-money/
 
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