Kittson County is cracking down on delinquent mobile home taxes, Kittson Area reported. The report revealed that mobile home taxes will now be treated the same way as delinquent real estate property taxes. This was revealed to have occurred during a May 21 meeting, where commissioners voted to start repossession after an owner keeps getting delinquencies on their mobile home for a period of three years.
County Administrator Eric Christensen detailed what homeowners will need to go through. While the administration is looking to decide on the "final step" in repossession by going through a manual, they also informed how the process will happen. Delinquent payers will first be informed by a notice in the mail. If they don't respond, the city sheriff will personally serve the notice.
Kittson County previously treated the mobile homes as "personal property" right until Tuesday. Christensen also said that a resource on "personal property" was not possible. This was a loophole that the mobile home owners used to go to, which enabled them not to pay taxes on these properties.
These mobile homes having taxes could sound trouble for people who don't have the money to pay it off, so a recent Trump act might be their only hope. According to The Washington Post, a provision--known as "Opportunity Zones"--was designed to give low-income communities at least a chance to be able to pay off new taxes.
Governors from all 50 states and five US territories--including Texas--have designated "opportunity zones" in them. The program is potentially bigger than any other planned attempts to encourage investments into low-income neighborhoods before. It even has the opportunity to become bigger than the "enterprise zone programs" which was created in the 80s.
The program, at the basic level, enables someone to sell an investment--even at profit--and defer capital gains on that sale. The only provision is that they need to place the proceeds into funding that is directed into investing in an opportunity zone. This tax obligation can be put off by December 2026, where it will be reduced according to the number of years one holds the property.
The Texas ruling might not be as heavy as people think if it comes under the "opportunity zones" policy. Most mobile homes are in the possession of their owners for longer than four years, so they definitely would fall into the confines of the regulations.
