Erie County’s legal battle with mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is over.
A federal judge ruled that Fannie, Freddie and other government-chartered corporations are exempt from paying the county’s real estate transfer tax on the thousands of mortgages they help finance in Erie County each year.
Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny said dozens of federal courts and four appeals courts have rejected similar legal arguments in cases across the country.
The county filed a lawsuit last year in what it described at the time as an effort to recoup $2 million in lost tax revenue from the corporations.
A federal judge ruled that Fannie, Freddie and other government-chartered corporations are exempt from paying the county’s real estate transfer tax on the thousands of mortgages they help finance in Erie County each year.
Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny said dozens of federal courts and four appeals courts have rejected similar legal arguments in cases across the country.
The county filed a lawsuit last year in what it described at the time as an effort to recoup $2 million in lost tax revenue from the corporations.