Washtenaw County v. State Tax Commission

These consolidated suits involving the State Tax Commission and five Michigan counties concern principally the method of arriving at the state equalized value of real property in two respects: the effect of land contracts and other "creatively financed” transactions on "true cash value,” and the need to employ a "trending” factor to the data base of sales-ratio studies in order to more accurately pinpoint the "true cash value” of property on "the tax day.”

We hold that, when the seller of real property has contributed in a significant respect to the buyer’s ability to obtain financing at an…