The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-12-04

auditors a statement showing their re-
spectives apportionments."
These provisions manifest an intent
to give to each county through which
a railroad is operated, q tax upon the
per cent Of it's rolling stock used with
in it, in the operation of such road,
though its principal place OF business
may be located in another county.
The assessment in question is upon
the engines and cars Of the respective
railroads. The tax in question is a
property tax, not a tax on business, or
for the privilege of operating the rail-
ways through the counties, nor is it a
tax on the capital stock of the railroad
companies.
THE legislature assumed a railway
company operating its road in more
than one county would use a certain
per cent of its engines and cars in each.
The number Of its engines and car
used may vary from time to time. but
it is the duty of the board to ascertain
or approximate the average number.
Portions of the assessment equal to the
assessment upon the per cent OF rolling
stock should be apportioned to each Of
them"
The court holds that the board as
suned the number Of engines and cars
would average the same upon each
mile of the roads main track in
Tit COll1llCSs LlldL the SAME number
would'be used or the same number of
miles in each county through which the
roads were operated. 1t declares that
it is apparent thai such an apportion-
ment has resulted in a great injustice.
To illustrate, it takes the case of. the
Short Line, which runs through pine
counties and has five times as many
miles in Willard as in this county. On
the basis adopted. the portion allotted
rn 1If11nr.1 1-nsrl1 he I've FTn0ac Cr-aa faT-
than to this county; yet. on the twenty
I've or thirty miles in this county there
is an average of twenty times as many
cars used per day. The value of the
rolling stock used in the county of Mil
lard could not have been more than
cne-twentieth of the value of the roll
ing stock used here. The injustice re-
sulting to Weber county is held to be
about as great as that to this county.
Z The court says the error in the appor-
tionment consists in giving to one
county assessments on property used
in another.
The county furnishing the considera-
ton for the tax should receive the tax,
and to give it to another would violate
the fundamental principles upon which
its collection can be justified. No prop
erty can be legally entitled to h ben
eft on the property used in any other
county.
Had the distribution been made on
the basis of miles of main track and
switches, the apportionment would
have been more just. For it is probably
true there are more engines and cars
used daily on some of the switches of
the Rio Grande Western and the Ore
gon Short Line in Salt Lake and Webe.
counties than in some of the counties
in which these roads are operated.
The court concludes:
The orders of said board, appor
tloning the assessments on the rolling
stock of said corporations, are set aside
and annulled, SO far as they apportion
said assessment on the rolling stock to
the various counties into or through
which the said roads are operated; that
the board may reconvene and make a
fair and just apportionment of such
rolling stock to such cOunues, in the
light of reliable and accurate data on 4
proper basis"
The opinion was written by Chief
Justice Zane and concurred in by JUS
tees Bartch and Miner.
The effect of this decision viii be to
add $1,000 eco to the taxable property
of this city.