Lawsuit:2 Michigan Counties say Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac dodge taxes

The Detroit Free Press reports:

In a new wrinkle to Michigan's foreclosure crisis, two counties say they and the state's public schools lost tens of millions of dollars because home-mortgage lenders -- especially government-backed giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae -- have avoided paying the state's property-transfer tax.

The tax -- $8.60 on every $1,000 of a property's sale price -- is the responsibility of homeowners. Freddie and Fannie own thousands of homes in Michigan and elsewhere because of the foreclosure crisis.

Are Fannie and Freddie government agencies? Or are they private companies? The politicians that thought up these funding schemes never were concerned with the rule of law.