Bill Text: MI SB0163 | 2023-2024 | 102nd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Property tax: exemptions; exemption for the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran; modify. Amends sec. 7b of 1893 PA 206 (MCL 211.7b).
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 3-1)
Status: (Introduced) 2023-03-09 - Referred To Committee On Finance, Insurance, And Consumer Protection [SB0163 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2023-SB0163-Introduced.html
SENATE BILL NO. 163
A bill to amend 1893 PA 206, entitled
"The general property tax act,"
by amending section 7b (MCL 211.7b), as amended by 2013 PA 161.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 7b. (1) Real property used and owned as a homestead by a disabled veteran who was discharged from the armed forces of the United States under honorable conditions or by an individual described in subsection (2) either of the following individuals is exempt from the collection of taxes under this act: .
(a) A disabled veteran.
(b) A surviving spouse of a disabled veteran who, immediately before death, was eligible for the exemption under this section. An exemption under this subdivision continues as long as the surviving spouse does not remarry, and the exemption applies to any property used and owned as a homestead by the surviving spouse, including homestead property acquired after the decedent's death.
(2) To obtain the exemption, an individual described in subsection (1)(a) or (b), or the individual's legal designee, must file an affidavit showing the facts required by this section and a description of the real property shall be filed by the property owner or his or her legal designee with the supervisor or other assessing officer during the period beginning with the tax day for each year and ending at the time of the final adjournment of the local board of review. The affidavit when filed shall be is open to inspection. The county treasurer shall cancel taxes subject to collection under this act for any year in which a disabled veteran an individual described in subsection (1)(a) or (b) who is eligible for the exemption under this section has acquired title to real property exempt under this section. Upon granting the exemption under this section, each local taxing unit shall bear the loss of its portion of the taxes upon which the exemption has been granted.
(2) If a disabled veteran who is otherwise eligible for the exemption under this section dies, either before or after the exemption under this section is granted, the exemption shall remain available to or shall continue for his or her unremarried surviving spouse. The surviving spouse shall comply with the requirements of subsection (1) and shall indicate on the affidavit that he or she is the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran entitled to the exemption under this section. The exemption shall continue as long as the surviving spouse remains unremarried.
(3) As used in this section: , "disabled
(a) "Disabled veteran" means a person veteran who is a resident of this state and who meets 1 of the following criteria:
(i) (a) Has been determined by the United States department of veterans affairs Department of Veterans Affairs to be permanently and totally disabled as a result of military service and entitled to veterans' benefits at the 100% rate.
(ii) (b) Has a certificate from the United States veterans' administration, or its successors, Department of Veterans Affairs certifying that he or she the veteran is receiving or has received pecuniary assistance due to disability for specially adapted housing.
(iii) (c) Has been rated by the United States department of veterans affairs Department of Veterans Affairs as individually unemployable.
(b) "Veteran" means an individual who served in the United States Armed Forces and was discharged under honorable conditions.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act is curative and intended to prevent any misinterpretation that may result from the Michigan court of appeals in Lockhart v Ontonagon Twp, No. 356883 (May 19, 2022) regarding the claim of a surviving spouse of a deceased disabled veteran for a property tax exemption under section 7b of the general property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL 211.7b, as to homestead property not owned by the decedent before the decedent's death.
