DEKALB COUNTY, GA (CBS ATLANTA) -
DeKalb County filed a lawsuit last week alleging mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac haven't paid real estate transfer taxes on an undetermined number of properties.
The suit, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, claims the federally backed mortgage companies avoided paying taxes because they claimed they were government agencies. Government agencies are exempt from transfer taxes.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are publicly traded corporations.
In Georgia, the transfer tax on a $100,000 property would be $1,000.
Burke Brennan, spokesman for DeKalb County, said the county is trying to determine how much Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failed to pay. Brennan said he does not know how many transactions are involved. According to the lawsuit, the amount DeKalb County is owed exceeds $75,000.
The Chatham County Clerk of Superior Court filed a similar lawsuit earlier this month.
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