It appears Oxford Village President Steve Allen is in violation of state tax law and not paying all the property taxes he’s legally required to.
According to Oxford Township tax records, the two properties Allen owns in the village – 31 Moyer St. and 40 Burdick Woods Ct. – are both exempted as homestead properties.
“You can only have one homestead property,” said Oakland County Treasurer Patrick M. Dohany citing state law.
When asked if Allen was in violation of state tax law by having two properties simultaneously exempted as homestead, Terry Stanton, spokesman for the state treasury department, replied, “Yes, it’s technically a violation.”
Despite repeated attempts to contact Allen for comment on Monday and Tuesday, the village president failed to respond.
A homestead property is defined as a property owner’s “principal residence.”
The Michigan Department of Treasury defines a “homestead” as “the place you intend to return to whenever you go away. It is the address that appears on your Driver License or Voter Registration Card. You may have only one homestead at a time.”
If a property owner owns a second home that is not the “principal residence,” state law requires it be assessed as a non-homestead property.
“Property which you do not occupy as your principal residence, may not be claimed” for a homstead exemption, according to the treasury department.
Allen’s summer and winter 2002 and summer 2003 township tax bills show both Allen’s Moyer property, which has been for sale, and Burdick Woods property, his current residence, exempted as homesteads.
In 2001, the Burdick Woods property was assessed as non-homestead on summer and winter township tax bills. Allen and his wife were listed as the owners in 2001.
However, Allen filed an affidavit in August 2001 for a homestead exemption on his 40 Burdick Woods Ct. property, declaring it to be his “principal residence.”
This reporter obtained a copy of the affidavit from the Oakland County Equalization Division. It was signed by Steve Allen and his wife, Romayne, dated Aug. 6, 2001, stamped by the township as received on Aug. 17, 2001 and stamped as received by county equalization on Sept. 27, 2001.
A question on the affidavit asked Allen, “Have you ever claimed a homestead exemption for another Michigan homestead?” He answered “yes.”
Below that is the question, “If yes, have you rescinded that homestead exemption?”
Allen left the second question unanswered.
State law requires one of Allen’s properties to be assessed as non-homestead, if the other is exempted as homestead.
Township Treasurer Joe Ferrari said Allen should have filed a “Request to Rescind/Withdraw a Homestead Exemption” for his Moyer property when he made the Burdick Woods property his principal residence and homestead via his August 2001 affidavit.
According to the state General Property Tax Act, “Not more than 90 days after exempted property is no longer used as a homestead by the owner claiming an exemption, that owner shall rescind the claim of exemption by filing with the local tax collecting unit a rescission form prescribed by the department of treasury.”
By having both properties exempted as homestead, Allen, a former member of the Oxford Board of Education (1993-1998), was never assessed the Oxford Schools non-homestead millage rates for 2002 and 2003 on his Moyer property.
That means Allen did not pay the 16.3326-mill non-homestead rate for summer and winter 2002 or the 7.8968-mill non-homestead rate on the 2003 summer township tax bill.
County Equalization, which handles assessing for Oxford Township and Village, was made aware of Allen’s dual homesteads last week by Ferrari.
Dave Hieber, of County Equalization, said Allen’s Moyer property will be denied its homestead exemption for 2002 and 2003 and the village president will be required to pay the non-homestead property taxes for those years.
Based on Oxford Schools’ non-homestead millage rates and the Moyer property’s taxable values in 2002 ($70,860) and 2003 ($71,920), Allen will owe $1,157.32 for summer and winter 2002 and $567.94 for summer 2003.
Hieber said after Allen’s notified of the denial, he will have 35 days to appeal the decision before the tax tribunal.
Stanton said thanks to the state legislature’s recent enactment of an “amnesty period,” if Allen pays the previously unassessed non-homestead taxes prior to Nov. 1, 2003, he will avoid any penalty or interest payments.
If Allen fails to pay by Nov. 1, Stanton said the interest penalty on property taxes not paid because of a “wrongful claim for homestead exemption” is 1? percent per month.
In addition to his unassessed and unpaid non-homestead taxes, Allen also owes $2,226.98 in delinquent township taxes on his 31 Moyer St. property, according to the county treasury department.
Tax records indicate Allen has not paid his 2002 summer and winter taxes.
Records also show the village president has not paid his 2003 summer township tax bill for 31 Moyer St. ($970.91), which was due on Sept. 15.
However, township tax records indicate Allen has paid all the property taxes on his Burdick Woods property up to and including the summer 2003 bill.