Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1900-08-06
TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE
COMPANIES NEXT.
AT CAPITOL AUGUST i
Second of Hearings by Commission on
Taxation of Corporations-Nat
of the Questions That Will Be
Asked and What Is Expected in Re
ply-A Searching Inquiry.


companies doing business in the state.
hearings will be given to street railway
companies, life insurance companies,
trust companies, and, possibly, light
and water companies. The hearing of
| the telegraph companies will take place
! August 16, at 10 o'clock a. M, in the
| tol. The companies are notified that
at the hearing the following questions
will be considered:
1. Shall the present system be
changed to the valuation and assess
ment of the property of telegraph COM
panies by state board with taxes
levied on such valuation at the average
rate of taxation, state and local con-
solidation, or shall the existing system
| be changed to a license fee on the
gross earnings of such company within
| the state?
g. If license fee on gross earnings
is imposed, what per cent. of such
earnings shall be taken to make the
taxes of said companies equal to the
taxes levied on other property in the
state?
3. What mode shall be adopted to as
certain and determine the amount Of
taxes which shall be paid by telegraph
companies to make the same proper
tionate to taxes levied on other prop
erty in the state?
4. What rule shall be applied to as
certain the true value of telegraph
property including franchises?
5. Are there any constitutional OBJ
jections to the taxation of telegraph
companies by either one of the Chree
modes herein stated?
6. Are such companies now paying
their just share Of taxes in this state?
Each company is requested to file in
this office before the day fixed for
the hearing a statement duly verified
showing: (a) The entire gross and net
earnings of the company for your last
fiscal year. III
(b) The entire gross and net earn
ings of that part of the system in Wis
consin, including interstate business,
for the same period.
Co The total cost of the entire prop
erty of the company.
(d) The cost Of the part thereof in
Wisconsin.
(e) The total true value Of the en-
tire property of the company at the end
Of the last fiscal year.
(f) The true value of the part there
of in Wisconsin.
(g) The amount of taxes paid by
such company in 1899 in each state and
territory in which it operated, separ-
ately stated.
The hearing of the telephone compa-
MES will be held at 10 o'clock, August
21, in the rooms of the commission.
The notice to the telephone companies
contains the following:
On such hearing the companies are
expected to present such facts and sta
tistics as may be deemed material to a
full investigation of the property Of
such companies and that will tend to
show what taxes they ought to pay
The scope of the hearing cannot now
be fixed, but the following are some of
the points which the commission may
be compelled to consider in the prepar-
alton of the report:
1. Shall the present statute, provid-
ing for license fees on gross earnings,
be repealed and telephone property
other real estate and personal property
are valued and assessed, either by local
assessors or state board?
2. If the valuation method is adopted
for the taxation of telephone compa-
MES, what mode shall be prescribed to
ascertain the value of such property
and the proportion it bears to the value
Of all the property of the state liable
to taxation?
3. If the system of license fees on
gross earnings is retained, what mode
shall be adopted to determine the just
and equitable per cent. of gross earn
ings as the license fees which ought to |
be paid by telephone companies in lieu
of other taxes that the true value of
all property in the state shall be as
certained with the rate of taxation,
and if so, what is the best and most |
practical mode of ascertaining such |
true value?
5. In case the license fee system is
retained, shall the rate per cent. on
gross earnings be made uniform for all |
companies, or should the rate be grad !
ed according to the amount of gross
earnings and il graded or classified, |
what mode shall be adopted in fixing |
the rate per cent. on gross earnings |
that will produce equality of taxation |
among telephone companies and be- /
tween such companies and the owners |
Of other property in the state?
6. Are there any legal objections to !
statute providing for the assessment |
of the property of telephone companies |
by state board and the levy of taxes
on such assessed valuation at the aver !
age rate of taxation, state and local |
consolidated?
"a n &c tnI RI 10 IN