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No. 127152
| Wexford Medical Group, |
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John D. Pirich |
Petitioner-Appellant, |
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vs (Appeal from Ct of Appeals) |
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| City of Cadillac, |
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Roger L. Wotila |
Respondent-Appellee. |
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| ______________________________________ |
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Click to view briefs in Adobe format:
Petitioner-Appellant's Brief on Appeal>>
Petitioner-Appellant's Reply Brief>>
Respondent-Appellee's Brief on Appeal>>
McLaren Health Care Corporation's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Michigan Association of Homes and Services for the Aging's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Michigan Health and Hospital Association's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Michigan Municipal League and Michigan Townships Association's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Michigan Rural Health Clinics Organization's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Background
Plaintiff Wexford Medical Group is a nonprofit corporation providing health care to Wexford County residents. Wexford is an exempt organization under the Internal Revenue Code, section 501(c)(3); Wexford's mission includes providing access to healthcare services in underserved areas of Northern Michigan. This dispute concerns Wexford's liability to the City of Cadillac for ad valorem taxes on its personal and real property. Wexford claimed that all of its personal property and 87 percent of its real property is exempt from ad valorem taxation under the charitable and public health exemptions of the General Property Tax Act. The City of Cadillac disagreed, and assessed taxes on Wexford's personal and real property. Wexford filed a petition in the Michigan Tax Tribunal, seeking to overturn the assessment. The Tribunal ruled in the City of Cadillac's favor and upheld the assessment. The Tribunal concluded that Wexford failed to show that it qualified for an exemption under MCL 211.7o (charitable institution exemption) or MCL 211.7r (public health exemption). The Tribunal noted that Wexford has an annual budget of approximately $10 million and has about 44,000 patient visits per year. It also noted that Wexford collected significant fees from its self-pay patients, Medicare patients, Medicaid patients, and Blue Cross patients. The Tribunal acknowledged that Wexford operates at a loss and that its parent corporations subsidized the medical care provided at its facilities. But the Tribunal concluded that Wexford's primary purpose in its operation is that of a typical family medical practice, and that it provided only limited charitable services, valued at about $2,400, to fewer than a dozen patients in each taxable year. Accordingly, Wexford was not entitled to either the charitable tax exemption or the public health tax exemption, the Tribunal held. The Court of Appeals affirmed in an unpublished per curiam opinion. Wexford appeals.
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