Sep 3, 2008 8:35 am US/Central
Whopper Past-Due Tax Bills A Shocker For Hundreds
Notices Demand Thousands In Real Estate Transfer Taxes From Up To 7 Years Ago
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
The City of Chicago has been billing hundreds of people for back taxes, sending past-due notices out-of-the-blue that thousands of dollars are owed in real estate transfer taxes from as long as seven years ago.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Steve Miller reports, one woman said it was a shock. She received a bill from the City of Chicago five years after her divorce.
The bill indicated that her taxes were more than $3,000 past due, including interest and penalties, because she'd never paid a real estate transfer tax when she got the home after her divorce.
"My attorney never told me about any fee," the woman said.
"The problem is that many attorneys got caught," said Dan Bonis, a real estate lawyer and president of O'Hare Title Company.
He said exchanges of deeds during divorce proceedings have been routinely marked "exempt" by many attorneys. But the city doesn't see them as tax exempt.
And now, in tough economic times, he thinks the city is going back to see who owes money.
"And is it a bad idea? No. Did it catch a lot of people off guard? Yeah."
A spokesman for the Chicago Revenue Department says the city is doing a better job of getting notices out than it has in the past.
Steve Miller, WBBM Newsradio 780
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