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Need an answer to a tax collection question

922 views 7 replies 3 participants last post by  RyeBread 
#1 ·
I have an argument to settle and I need some input from this forum .
A friend and I have a running argument that a local municipality does not have the right to collect an outstanding Income tax as the Statue of limitations has past .
The city is trying to collect a tax from 1989 (19 years old) and every bit of Info I can find says Michigan has a 6 year limitation on collections. I did find one site which says the city can still pursue the collection however they can not sue for it or even threaten to use legal means.
Problem is I have yet to find an official statement on this.

I know this forum can and will find the answer !!!, in fact I’m not sure why most legal issues are not run thru this forum prior to spending massive amounts of tax payers money in the court system :) .

I have searched and found enough info to keep the argument fresh but it sure would be nice to have an official document to stuff down his throat !!! .

Please help
 
#2 ·
If the tax reported was not in truth or fraudelent, then the statue of limitations does not apply, to include legal remedy of collecting owed taxes.
 
#3 ·
A bit more info would suffice. Was this tax liability just discovered by the City?

The court of appeals has ruled numerous times (in both directions) on enforcement of statute of limitations.

Regardless, 19 years is a bit absurd, even if this had been tied up in various courts that long.

I'm assuming you've already read through: http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-Act-284-of-1964 as well as hunting down various amendments...
 
#4 ·
My understanding is this just in the last month or so the city sent a letter asking for payment . to everyone's knowledge this was the first attempt to collect this and there is no court involvement.

My 1st thought is Detroit is in a money pinch and I'm sure they are looking for any means of gathering money , if they contact 100,000 people who owe back taxes and they actually get 25% of them to make a payment then that's money in the bank. but to go thru court proceedings over a few hundred bucks who be stupid , however this is Detroit I'm talking about .
 
#5 ·
If I were to receive such a letter from a City, I would make a phone call first. Then ask to speak with the supervisor of the person in charge of the case.

Indicate that you will not respond to informal letters outside of the jurisdiction of a formal court of law, or the quasi-judicial Michigan Tax Tribunal. (actually I'm not certain the MTT has jurisdiction over city income tax issues, I do know they get involved in state income tax issues from time to time)

Further indicate that it THEY pursue it you will not only fight it to the fullest extent permissible by law, but also seek to get compensation for your legal fees (fully permissible under the law) but will also seek to get the case published in peer review articles, as well as the mainstream press.

Regardless, if you're an attention hound, it might be worth calling a local news channel anyway...

Detroit needs to be bulldozed, replatted, and redeveloped from top to bottom.....
 
#6 ·
In looking further, the MTT's involvement in non-property tax matters appear to be limited to levies/fines established by the Michigan Department of Treasury. (e.g. State income, sales, use and payroll taxes for the most part)
 
#7 ·
I cornered my legal advisor for my company and he said "providing a tax form was submitted and not fraudulant, the person has a moral obligation to pay what is owed however if all filings were accurate the statue of limitations holds true" and If I wanted a better explanation I need to set up an appointment and pay the consulting fee !!! .
This is to settle an arguement and it's cheaper to pay for a beer so I'll call this one solved.
 
#8 ·
When it comes to paying for the mistake (a nearly two decades old mistake at that) of an inept bureaucracy - I have a tough time siding with a moral obligation vs. that of a legal ability to avoid making that payment...

That being said, if/when it comes to settling a bet re: anything in the legal system I think we all have seen such goofy things that there is no "sure thing" when it comes to what is legal or not.
 
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