Ongoing legal contests over tax auction profits take me back to the days of delinquent-tax-fueled quarter billion dollar surpluses in the Wayne County Treasurer's office
Thank you, Mike. Yes, that's correct. In recent years there have been modifications to the 18% in certain circumstances.
Namely, the "Interest Reduced Stipulated Payment Agreement" payment plan which retroactively reduces the interest rate to 6% and spreads out repayment over 5 years instead of 3 (...and leads to higher debt totals than existed prior to entering the agreement), and "Pay As You Stay" (PAYS) for low-income homeowners in cities that adopt it, which reduces the back taxes owed for homeowners in poverty who receive a property tax exemption from their local government to the lesser of 10% of taxable value or base taxes owed, minus interest, penalties, and fees.
PAYS has been very effective in Detroit at least (I was involved in trying to support that for years) but it's been spottily adopted across the county and the state.
Thanks for this article. Do I remember correctly that the interest rate is statutory and that Lansing would have to fix that?
Thank you, Mike. Yes, that's correct. In recent years there have been modifications to the 18% in certain circumstances.
Namely, the "Interest Reduced Stipulated Payment Agreement" payment plan which retroactively reduces the interest rate to 6% and spreads out repayment over 5 years instead of 3 (...and leads to higher debt totals than existed prior to entering the agreement), and "Pay As You Stay" (PAYS) for low-income homeowners in cities that adopt it, which reduces the back taxes owed for homeowners in poverty who receive a property tax exemption from their local government to the lesser of 10% of taxable value or base taxes owed, minus interest, penalties, and fees.
PAYS has been very effective in Detroit at least (I was involved in trying to support that for years) but it's been spottily adopted across the county and the state.