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Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Ind. Gov't. - "Could Muncie Mayor Sharon McShurley lose her home?"

Nick Werner of the Muncie Star-Press reports today in a story that begins:

MUNCIE -- A dispute over Mayor Sharon McShurley's property taxes could result in the county auctioning her home in a tax sale, Delaware County attorney Mike Quirk has warned.
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In response, McShurley, a Republican, accused Quirk, a Democrat, of playing politics.

The Delaware County auditor's office has billed McShurley for $7,155 after identifying her as one of more than 60 property owners who have held more than one homestead exemption at a given time.

Homestead exemptions deduct a significant portion of a property's assessed valuation for taxing purposes. A $100,000 property with a homestead credit, for example, would be taxed at $55,000.

Taxpayers, however, are only allowed a homestead exemption for the property they live in.

Auditor Judy Rust determined $7,155 is the amount McShurley underpaid on a rental property for the last seven years, which is as far back as the county's electronic tax records go.

McShurley, who acknowledges she underpaid, has said she plans on paying for only the last three years, arguing Indiana law limits counties from billing taxpayers retroactively any further.

Delaware County attorney Mike Quirk responded that the three-year limitation applies only in situations where a property's assessed value is in question, and not in situations where the property's homestead status is in question.

A spokeswoman for the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance said the DLGF interpreted the law the same way McShurley did.

Any decisions, however, are left to local officials.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 2, 2009 09:19 AM
Posted to Indiana Government