Sec. 4.
If in any such case it appears that an agreement cannot be reached, as provided in section 3, or if 1 year shall have elapsed from the date of the election without such an agreement having been reached, the domicile of the decedent at the time of his death shall be determined solely for death tax purposes as follows:
(a) Where only this state and 1 other state are involved, the commissioner of revenue of this state and the taxing official of the other state shall each appoint a member of a board of arbitration, and these members shall appoint the third member of the board. If this state and more than 1 other state are involved, the taxing officials thereof shall agree upon the authorities charged with the duty of administering death tax laws in 3 states not involved in the dispute and each of these authorities shall appoint a member of the board of arbitration. The board shall select 1 of its members as chairman.
(b) Such board shall hold hearings at such places as are deemed necessary, upon reasonable notice to the executors, ancillary administrators, all other interested persons, and to the taxing officials of the states involved, all of whom are entitled to be heard.
(c) Such board may administer oaths, take testimony, subpoena witnesses and require their attendance, require the production of books, papers and documents, issue commissions to take testimony. Subpoenas may be issued by any member of the board. Failure to obey a subpoena may be punished by any court of record in the same manner as if the subpoena had been issued by such court.
(d) Whenever practicable such board shall apply the rules of evidence then prevailing in the federal courts under the federal rules of civil procedure.
(e) Such board shall determine the domicile of the decedent at the time of his death. This determination is final and conclusive and binds this state, and all of its judicial and administrative officials on all questions concerning the domicile of the decedent for death tax purpose. If said board does not render a determination within 1 year from the time that it is fully constituted, all authority of said board shall cease and the bar to court proceedings set forth in section 2 shall no longer exist.
(f) The reasonable compensation and expenses of the members of the board and its employees shall be agreed upon among such members, the taxing officials involved, and the executors. If an agreement cannot be reached, such compensation and expenses shall be determined by such taxing officials; and, if they cannot agree, by the appropriate probate court of the state determined to be the domicile. Such amount shall be borne by the estate and shall be deemed an administration expense.
(g) The determination of such board and the record of its proceeding shall be filed with the authority having jurisdiction to assess the death tax in the state determined to be the domicile of the decedent and with the authorities which would have had jurisdiction to assess the death tax in each of the other states involved if the decedent had been found to be domiciled therein.
History: 1956, Act 173, Eff. Aug. 11, 1956