Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1899-06-12
PUBLIC FRANCHISES.

No recent phase Of New York legis-
lation has received such wide atten-
ton as that which bears on the taxa
number of the North american ReuieaU
State Senator John Ford, the author
of the Franchise Tax Bill sums up the
general scope and purpose of this law
as follows:
''Some few important public fran
chises in the city of New York, and in
other cities, are now paying some re-
turns to the cities in the form of a
percentage of the gross receipts or
otherwise. Some corporations pay
considerable lump sums for their
franchises when granted. All cor
porations holding public franchise
pay State franchise tax. It is there
fore contended that the law imposes
double taxes upon them.
AS to the franchise tax which they
pay, that is tax upon their corpor-
ate, not their public, franchises. A
steam railroad, which paid for it's
roadbed at full market value, spent
millions in preparing it for the ties
and rails, and other millions in main
tanning it and which is taxed on every
foot of the land it uses in connection
with its right of way, pays franchise
to the State in addition. 1t is a tax
on its right to be a corporation, and
that is what the franchise tax paid by
a street railroad corporation is, and
nothing more nor less. The next tax
on the street railroad will be, in effect,
tax on it's roadbed-hitherto ex-
empted-similar to that always paid
by the steam road. AS to the percent
age OF gross receipts paid to the city
and the lump sums paid for the fran
chises, those constitute the considera-
ton agreed to be paid by the grantees
for the property they received. They
are simply the purchase price. But
because an ordinary citizen has bought
and paid for his property and fully
complied with his purchase contract,
does not the law therefore exempt him
from taxation? He may have paid
more than his land was worth, but ne
pays taxes every year in addition.
The possessors of public franchises
have, for the most part, paid abso-
lutely nothing for their properties,
and never tenth part Of what they
are worth. By what process of rea-
soning they bring themselves to be-
lieve that, because Of the miserable
little return they make to the city for
their inestimable valuable easements
in the streets, they are therefore en-
titled to exemption from taxation on
ditional charges, such as car license
fees, and the like, imposed upon them,
can hardly be classed as taxes at all,
but in any event are so inconsiderable
that they surely cannot be urged SER
iously as an equitable prohibition
against State and local taxation.
What revenue will be realized from
the act it is impossible to estimate
with any degree of accuracy. That it
will be very large is certain-far lar
yer Gudu even LuO COZ pOIdlIOLS LuOLu-
selves realize. In general, it may be
stated that the entire value of the
stock of transportation, corporations
is the measure of the value Of their
respective franchises. The actual
investment of capital is usually repre-
sented by the bonded Indebtedness.
When one considers the large number
of companies, the value Of whose
shares will foot up from twenty five
to hundred million dollars, one can
form some idea of how much will be
added to the assessed valuation of the
property throughout the State. On
the other hand, the first effect of the
law will be depreciate the value of
the stock, by reason of the prospec-
tive payment of part Of the profits
of the company into the public treas
ury."
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Place your confidence in DeWitt's Witch Hazel
Salve 1t has never Jailed to cure others; it will
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III Pierce, Barton; r E French, Glover; III S
Webster, ton Landing; w Russell, Iras-
burg