Should you appeal your home’s property tax assessment? What can Lansing politicians help bring prosperity back to MI? How much do government employees & politicians receive in pensions and benefits compared to you? Ever wonder how politicians really think?

These questions and more will be addressed at the first-ever Taxpayer Summit at the University Center at Macomb Community College’s Center Campus on Saturday, January 30th. And you are invited.

The Taxpayer Summit consists of three independent sessions listed below.

Each session is limited to the first 300 people to register online here. You do NOT have to attend all three sessions. Please indicate which session(s) that you will attend.

The summit is free. A donation of a dollar or two will be requested to cover costs, but is not required.

The Taxpayer Summit will be held at Macomb Community College’s University Center Assembly Hall, located in building UC1 at the very south end of the campus off Garfield Road in Clinton Twp.

See you at the Taxpayer Summit!

Who: You, a citizen and taxpayer

What: Taxpayer Summit

Where: Macomb Community College’s University Center Assembly Hall, located in building UC1 at the very south end of the campus off Garfield Road in Clinton Twp.

When: Saturday, January 30th from 1:00PM to 5:30PM. You do NOT have to stay for the entire Taxpayer Summit (though you are very welcome to). Please register for any or all three of the available sessions.

Cost: Free. The entire Summit is free, however a voluntary contribution of one or two dollars will be requested to offset the MTA’s cost of renting the facility.

Registration: attendance is limited to the first 300 that register.

Can’t attend on January 30th in Macomb? Don’t despair! The class titled “How to Appeal Your Property Taxes” is being scheduled throughout Michigan, from the Upper Peninsula to Grand Rapids and more in metro-Detroit. Classes are still being scheduled. For information on a class near you, please check back periodically as classes are added.

1. How to Appeal Your Property Taxes: 1:00 - 2:30PM

Have your property taxes gone up even though your home’s value has declined? Maybe your taxes have been reduced, but not as much as your home’s value has. Should you appeal your property tax assessment?
Those questions will be addressed at this free classes offered by the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance. Last year the MTA trained over 3,000 homeowners at 12 classes from Harrison Township to Kalamazoo. Attendees learned:

• How do I appeal my property tax assessment?
• Should I appeal my assessment? Could appealing ‘backfire’ and increase my taxes?
• How can my taxes go up in a declining home market?
• What if I lose my appeal? Can I appeal to the state? How?
• How do assessors determine the value of my home?
• How do foreclosures affect neighborhood home values and property taxes?
• And much, much, more.

2. The Cost of MI’s “Government Class”: 2:45 – 4:00PM

Are the salaries & fringe benefits for politicians and bureaucrats bankrupting taxpayers? How much do government workers get paid compared to private-sector citizens? What about fringe benefits? How much does it cost you to provide for Michigan’s increasingly expensive “government class”?

This session features presenters from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy (Michigan leading public policy think tank) discussing how much Michigan’s public employees cost you and other taxpayers.

3. The Secret Life of Politicians: 4:15 – 5:30PM

Why do politicians make bad policy decisions? Why do they raise business and personal taxes when job providers and other citizens are already fleeing Michigan? Are politicians dumb? Or are they acting on a different set of incentives that are not obvious to the general public.

Former politicians tell all at this forum (hint: I am one of them). Who buys them dinners? Takes them on trips? Funds their campaigns? How can you, an ‘ordinary taxpayer’, get a politician to listen to your thoughts instead of the special interests? Find out by attending this session.

Online Registration