News & Events Digest: September 2023

Record-setting $107,000 raised at 11th annual Fostering Futures Scholarship event in Dearborn

Nearly 400 foster youth are eligible to receive college scholarships following the 11th annual Fostering Futures Scholarship Trust Fund Benefit Dinner organized by the Michigan Education Trust (MET) and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).

The September 21 event at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn was attended by close to 220 guests who raised a record-setting $107,125 for scholarships through MET, the Michigan Department of Treasury?s 529 prepaid education program. So far this year, MET has raised $146,980 for the scholarships.

Both the fundraiser dinner and raffle benefit youth who have experienced foster care in Michigan. A partnership between MET and MDHHS makes Fostering Futures Scholarships possible.

?We have been working together for more than a decade to bring hope and resources to Michigan?s foster youth,? said State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks, who spoke at the event. ?Tonight?s event is about breaking down barriers for these youth. It?s about turning compassion into action, hope into reality, and dreams into achievement. ?The money we raise goes directly to helping the students get to, and succeed in, college.?

Read about this event on the MDHHS website.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: More Than $553 Million in Protecting MI Pension Grant Awards Going to 123 Michigan Communities

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently announced that more than $553 million in Protecting MI Pension Grant awards are being sent to 123 Michigan communities to help underfunded municipal pension systems and create statewide financial stability.

?After a lifetime of hard work, Michigan seniors deserve to retire with dignity,? said?Governor Whitmer. ?Today?s Protecting MI Pension Grants will ensure that Michiganders who served our communities as police officers, firefighters, sanitation workers, and in so many other invaluable professions, will receive the stable, secure retirement that they earned. I am proud that earlier this year, I signed legislation rolling back the retirement tax on our seniors, saving half a million households an average of $1,000 a year, putting money back in their pockets for gas, groceries, or gifts for their grandkids. Today, we are continuing to deliver on our promise to Michigan?s seniors and shoring up municipal budgets across the state. Let?s keep putting money back in people?s pockets and building a brighter future.?

The Protecting MI Pension Grant Program was created to help Michigan?s underfunded municipal systems. Under the Fiscal Year 2022-23 budget, the Michigan Department of Treasury was appropriated dollars to establish and operate a program for?qualified retirement systems that were underfunded as outlined in state law.

Under the grant program, eligible cities, villages, townships, counties, and road commissions were encouraged to review their retirement system funding and apply for a grant by mid-June. A complete list of grant award communities can be found?online.

?A major budgetary concern for our local governments is their pensions systems,? said?State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks. ?Funding these systems enables our communities to uphold their commitment to 25,000-plus public servants and focus on providing the services Michiganders come to expect.?

Read more about this announcement on Treasury's website.

Garnishment Day activities for November 2023

The Michigan Department of Treasury will be practicing vehicle waiting for those filing writs of garnishment in early November.

Beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 1, Treasury staff will be outside the Operations Building in Dimondale, Michigan, to register individuals filing writs of garnishment.? Filers will need to supply their name, phone number, garnishment type(s), number of garnishments, and garnishment fee payment amount.

Once registered, filers will be directed to wait in their vehicles. When doors open at 8 a.m., individuals waiting in their vehicles will be contacted by mobile phone to enter the building one-by-one to file their garnishments.

Individuals who arrive at the Operations Center prior to 7:30 a.m. will not be provided priority in the processing of their writ of garnishments. All customers who arrive to the Operations Center between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. will be serviced.

Electronic media will not be reviewed on November 1. Filers interested in submitting writs of garnishment electronically should contact the Treasury for guidelines.?

Information and updates on how to submit your 2023 tax garnishments can be found on our website.

The auction will feature a wide variety of items, including coins, currency, jewelry, and many collectibles.

Inspection of auction items will be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, September 29, at the Quality Suites of Lansing, 901 Delta Commerce Drive. On Saturday, September 30, the auction begins at 9 a.m. and bids can only be placed online.

Payment terms are cash, check, Visa, MasterCard and Discover. To preview auction items or download a catalog of auction items, visit?www.crydermanauctions.com.

Under Michigan's Uniform Unclaimed Property Act, the Michigan Department of Treasury receives abandoned safe deposit box contents and works to return items to their rightful owners or heirs. Items that are not reunited with their owners can be sold at auction.

Proceeds from this auction and other unclaimed funds can be claimed by rightful owners or heirs by submitting an electronic claim form or by calling Michigan Unclaimed Property at 517-636-5320. To learn more, visit?www.michigan.gov/unclaimedproperty.

September 2023 'Treasury Update' Now Available

The Michigan Department of Treasury has published the September 2023 edition of "Treasury Update."

This month's issue includes:

• Revisions to Michigan's Sales and Use Tax Rules Take Effect
• Michigan Supreme Court Affirms Treasury and the Constitutionality of the Single Sales Factor Formula as Applied to the Gain on the Sale of an Outstate Business
• Taxpayer Refund Request Must be Explicit and in Writing to Trigger Interest Accrual
• Recently Issued Guidance from Treasury
• To Register or Not to Register
• All Things Advocate: Pension Subtraction Guidance for the 2023 Tax Year
• Update on Partnership Audit Adjustment Reporting

Read the September 2023 edition of "Treasury Update."