Salisbury County has filed a lawsuit against the two major mortgage companies, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The county government claims that they deserve unpaid taxes that have not yet been distributed from the mortgage companies. The Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation are both government backed public corporations. They have facilitated thousands of mortgages in North Carolina, but have not adhered to the state-imposed excise tax that is applied to all property transfers. These transfers equal $1 per $500 of land value. The two mortgage corporations insist that they are exempt from paying the excise tax, and this has caused a spiteful litigation in the county.

The counties believe that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae should be taxable, and that they need to adhere to the state taxes the same as anyone else. The North Carolina lawsuit follows a Michigan court case that was along the same lines. The Michigan County won, and was able to gain taxes from the large government-backed mortgage corporations. In the Michigan case, a judge ruled that an excise tax is just a tax on transferring property, and is not a direct tax on Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. This made the tax valid, and was the reason that the mortgage companies were encouraged to pay up in these states. As well, plaintiffs in the North Carolina case are arguing that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are not government entities. They are simply backed by the government. Therefore, they should still be taxed like any other mortgage company.

The lawsuit states that the companies are private, investor-owned corporations. The county believes that they could gain a significant amount of money if they could regain the lost tax revenue from the mortgage companies. The Salisbury County manager says he is not sure how much money is available to them in lost tax revenue, but he assumes it could be thousands. He says that if this is the case, the county needs to pursue obtaining that money as soon as possible. The lawsuit suggests that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pay back all the tax revenue that is due to the county as well as the country’s legal costs.

They also want to pay penalties like fines, fees and court costs. In their filing they say they are also seeking interest on the tax as can be permitted by law. Salisbury may have started this lawsuit against the mortgage companies, but they are only one of the many counties that are angry at the two corporations and want compensation. It is not yet known how many counties are planning to file alongside Salisbury, but there is viable reason to believe that many counties in the state will join the class action suit. Tax battles can be complicated, vague, and frustrating, especially when it comes to your property. If you are dealing with a mortgage issue, tax issue related to a mortgage company, or any other real estate problem, you need a lawyer on your side to help.

Because this area of law can be difficult to understand, you will want a professional on your side who knows how to handle the ins and outs of the legal system. You will also want to be sure that this attorney is aggressive and is willing to pull out all the stops to insist on justice. Find a real estate attorney on this directory to get started on your real estate lawsuit with a lawyer that you can trust. With the right legal representation, you could obtain the compensation you deserve in your tax and mortgage case.