The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-05-26
SALrLAKE CITY, Aug. 80, '73.

To the Honorable Mayor and CITY
Council Of Salt Lake City:
| Gentlemen-Your letter of the
l2Tth inst came duly to hand. You
ask our opinion whether it is legal
and proper to assess and tax railroad
bonds, lions Cooperative stock
bank stock and national banks, which
we understand for city revenue. In
answer to which we deem il
of more Importance to give the rea-
son for our judgment than to give
an abstract opinion.
The act Of Utah-see Utah laws
page 81, sec. 2, provides that an an
nual assessment shall be made on all
taxable property in the territory at
a fair cash valuation. The amend
ment to this act, passed January
10th, 1866, seesid. p. 217, sec. 2, is the
same in substance.
These terms in the law, though
not very definite, are sufficient to
embrace all the property in the
territory, without regard to the class
or kind or the ownership:
But the Organic Act, sec. 6, lays an
inhibition on the Legislature in re-
gard to its power of taxation. 1t is
in these words, No tax shall be i'm
posed on the property of the United
States, nor shall the land or other
property of non-residents, be taxed
higher than the land or other prop
erty of residents"
To this general provision Of the
Act Of Utah, there are certain eX-
emptions,-see p. Sc, sec. 16, in these
words-"Property belonging to the
United States, this territory, or any
county, city, or town thereof, to lit
erary, scientific, and benevolent in
situations when used for those pur-
poses, buildings for worship, and the
grounds and materials, and appur-
tenances thereunto belonging, to in
sane or idiotic persons, to the value
of $1,000, private libraries, burial
grounds and monuments for the
dead, are exempt from taxation"
These taken together leave, so far
as the laws of Utah are concerned,
all property not included in the ex-
emptiOn subject to taxation. A
moments glance will show that
railroad bonds, railroads, banks,
bank stock, shares in banks, z. G.
NJ. /. stock, shares in any incorpor-
ated company, and the property of
any incorporated company, are sub
ject to taxation. But all must be at
fair cash valuation. Thus stands
the law of Utah so far as taxes for
territory and county purposes are
concerned.
The city charter provides for tax
alton relating to a great variety of
subjects and in addition says, page
1T, sec 62-"the city council shall
have power within the city, by ordi-
nance, to annually levy and collect
taxes on the assessed value of all real
and personal estate or property, in
the city made taxable by the laws
of the territory"
From this it follows that the prop
erty which the territorial laws
authorize to be taxed the city coun-
Gil by ordinance may tax. But the
territory cannot authorize the city
to tax property that it, cannot itself
tax. 1t is within the legislative
power of the territory to tax en-
ployments,such as agents for foreign
corporations, professional men, Off
GERS and the like, but this they have
not done for territorial and county
purposes
The Legislature has right to
and tax one class of
property higher than other classes, to
encourage one class of pursuits and
discourage another class by discrim-
mating legislation.
The Utah Central. the Utah
the Utah Northern, and
all other railroads in this territory
chartered under our law, are to all
intents and purposes, subject to
taxation. The same remarks apply |
with equal force, to all corporate
bodies created by our laws together |
with railroad bonds or other bonds |
not being the bonds of the United |
ST ties; also to cooperate stock
and shares in the cooperative stores. |
But as the law now stands all must |
be assessed at a fair cash valuation.
How this shall be done is more diff
cult.
To tax for instance the entire
of the corporation and re-
luire the corporate authorities to
pay the tax and at the same time in
.he same year and for the same pur-
pose tax the shareholders for their
shares of stock is to tax in an indi-
rect way the same property twice
md is not a fair cash valuation
within the meaning of the law.
Only one should be taxed.
Railroad bonds, and other indebt-
sdness of other corporations and
Individuals stand on a different
To illustrate-suppose
"A" "a merchantin Utah between JAN
lary and June 1, that being the
'ime the assessment is to be made, Il
las S1.5e0,OO0 worth of property on /
land in the territory, butieKes $5QOs-l