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Tuesday, May 1, 2007 This week's headlines... • Budget Negotiations Tighten |
Plans underway to balance budget, resolve SBT replacement The Michigan Association of REALTORS® (MAR) is working closely with legislative leadership on both sides of the aisle regarding Michigan’s fiscal deficit. MAR’s top priority remains protecting the industry from harmful measures such as the Governor’s previous proposal of a 2% tax on services. The next 48 hours will be crucial regarding the state budget woes, as developing ideas and proposals may take the form of legislation in the days to come. With the rhetoric of “we have cut to the bone” and “we need more taxes”, it is perplexing that the Governor would allow continued salary increases for state workers while threatening to cut schools and shut down state government. This behavior remains out of touch with public perception of the state’s current fiscal crisis. Workgroups have been formed in response to various proposals on the budget, more specifically, replacement of the Single Business Tax (SBT). As you may have heard, there has been a lot of quick action here in Lansing regarding release of the House Democratic SBT replacement plan. The House Democratic plan is a combination of a business income tax and a net worth tax. MAR remains concerned about the net worth tax rate and the compensation credit portion of this plan. Staff continues to work with House leadership and sponsors of this legislation to reach some sort of resolution. Watch your inboxes for possible Call to Actions, legislative news, and up to date information on the budget situation and how it may affect the real estate industry. Attend Hill Visits at NAR Midyear Meeting The Michigan Association of REALTORS®, along with the National Association of REALTORS® is once again organizing the annual Midyear visits to Washington D.C. The purpose of this trip is for members to interact with government officials on the federal level and have their voice heard regarding legislation that directly impacts the real estate industry. These “Hill visits” impact the legislative process by allowing members to express their concerns or support with particular legislation that the Senator or Representative may vote on. There have been a number of hill visits already scheduled, with additions to follow. If you would like to be included in the meetings, plan on arriving at the designated time and place for that particular legislator. Please check the link below frequently to see when the visits have been set up with various Representatives or Senators. InternetCrusade has composed a nine-question survey for REALTORS®. The results of the survey will be presented to the NAR Risk Reduction Committee at its Midyear meeting later this month. You can participate in the survey by using this link http://internetcrusade.com/surveys/NARlegal/. REEPco envisions a global cultural shift to online communication, commerce and information exchange over the next few years. To facilitate and enable this shift, REEPco has created the InternetCrusade®. Its mission is to:
MAR Participates in 20th Annual Fair Housing Event The Fair Housing Center of West Michigan recently hosted its 20th Annual Fair Housing Luncheon and Workshop Series that was entitled “Fair Housing = Learning, Working, Thriving, Going Places Together” on April 26. This year’s event, held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in Grand Rapids, featured a keynote address by James Carr, senior vice president of research at the Fannie Mae Foundation in Washington D.C. The morning offered four panel discussions that ran concurrently that were followed by a luncheon. The panel discussions were as follows: Fair Housing + Education = Learning Together Fair Housing + Employment = Working Together Fair Housing + Health Care = Thriving Together Fair Housing + Transportation = Going Places Together MAR was a proud sponsor of this event. For more information visit www.fhcwm.org. With the help of McClelland & Anderson, we are taking the most commonly asked questions from our legal hotline and putting them in enews. We will be featuring a different question each month. QUESTION: I have sellers who have listed their property through me. They have told me that they need to make a minimum amount of $200,000 from the sale but that I can keep any amount in excess of this amount as my commission. I told them that such an arrangement is illegal in Michigan. Am I correct? ANSWER: YES. This is a “net list agreement” prohibited by R339.22315(3), which provides: The Legal Hotline number is 800.522.2820. The MAR Legal Hotline is operated six hours per day (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.), five days a week, Monday through Friday. This makes the MAR Legal Hotline available to members approximately 250 workdays a year. Recognized holidays are excluded. If the Legal Hotline is busy, an answering machine will take your call. Calls are returned within 24 hours, usually during the same day.
Calendar of Events For more information, check the events page and the education calendar.
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