Omaha daily bee., 1886-12-11
County and Municipal Taxation.

tOnnty anu
The chief editorial mouthpiece of the
Burlington road has spoken on the ques
ton of the evasion of municipal taxation
by corporate monopolies in this state
Treating with poorly concealed contempt
the plea of the taxpayers against the tax.
shirkers, it tries TO befog the issue by pre-
tending that it is the state revenue law
that is assailed, and that under it the rail
roads already bear large share of the
burden of municipal taxes. "This is the
way says the Lincoln Journal, rail
roads are taxed under our laws: The en-
tire road bed, rolling stock, depot bulld-
Ings, sjdetracks, switches and everything
essential to the practical running OF the
line, is considered as whole ana is as
sessed as a whole. Then the entire value
of the amount of the assessment is di-
vided by the number of miles of the main
track shown by the surveys, and every
mile of the road is accounted worth that
quotcnt in dollars and cents, and as
sessed accordingly. If a road has mile
OF its main track inside the boundaries of
a municipality 1t is assessed for munici.
pal purposes, not on the estimated value
of its dcpots, side.tracks and grounds in
the city or town, but on that one mile of
main track. II the company has Offices
or headquarters not connected with the
depot or on its right of way or depot
grounds, as in Omaha. that particular
property is not included, but is assessed
for city and county purposes by itself. !"
That Is the way in which railroads are
taxed for county purposes under our
laws. But they escape municipal tax.
alton entirely on every mile of main
track and switch track, on all depot
grounds and buildings on right of way
and structures thereon, on ninc-tenths,
in short, of all their property subject to
taxation and they do it under the cover
of the law which apportIons their local
improvements rs taxable property
| throughout all the counties of the state.
| There lies the point which the brass-col-
-ared editor of the journal with char
acteristic dishonesty attempts to con-
ceal. The justice of the revenue
law as applied to counties contain
ing railroad terminals is not now
under discussion. 1t is outrageous and
unfair. But the application of its pro-
visions to exclude entirely from city taxes
millions of dollars worth of property
which the city is obliged to protect and
defend is quite different question. No
county in the state has any interest in
assisting to further such a scheme. There
is the point involved which the BEE raises
for the consideration of Nebraska tax
payers.
The revenue law takes railroad taxa.
ton out of the hands of county assessors.
The cities assess property for municipal
taxation according to the books of the as.
SCISSORS hired by the counties. AS a result
all the property assessed by the state
for the counties goes scot free. 1t never
appears upon the municipal tax lists. II
pays state and county taxes but no city
| taxes.
Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island, Hast.
ings, Fremont and Beatrice have voted
hundreds of thousands of dollars of bonds
to railroads. They have seen block after
block OF taXpaying property condemned
as right of way and covered with depots,
elevators, main and side tracks. All this
property under the operations of the rev.
enue law is exempted from municipal
taxation rs right of way. There can be
no defense offered of such condition OF
affairs. 1t is unprecedented, without
warrant in equity and must be remedied