Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-02-15
Taxation is
Far h0mEqua|
Significant Representations TO the State Board of Equal
katjon--how Big Corporations are Favored In
The Way of Low Assessments

lUtIt uIt lHulNhAlup' th"N VIZ
board Of equalization Is getting INTO
deep water and that there is practical
unanlmlty among the various counties
in desiring a marked change.
The state board has been receiving
some letters. the bulk Of them reaching
It's office by today's mail. The docu'
monts are respectful and conservative
in tone. but they present facts which
show that the various county govern
ments are far from being satisfied that
the state board of equalization Is ex-
tensiyely engaged In the equalizing
line, especially as between the big cor
porations and the individual property
taxpayers.
The situation as pointed out in the
letters received Is briefly this; The big
corporations, such as railways, tele.
phone and telegraph companies, car
companies, etc, are assessed by the
state board OF equalization. The farm
ers bankers, merchants and manufac.
turers are assessed by the county as
SCISSORS. The effect of the showing in
the statements submitted Is that the
state board Of equalization assesses the
property OF the big corporations at rs
TO 80 per cent of It's actual value, while
the board requires county assessors TO
assess the other property AZ G5 to 70 per-
cent Of the actual value in the open
market. II the figures in the various
statements are correct land they are
compiled from Official records), then the
farmer manufacturer, merchant and
banker Is taxed proportionately two on
three times as heavy as the big corpor-
atoms and this because OF apparent
discrimination by the state board of
equalization.
There are nineteen counties interested
In this matter so far as railways are
concerned, and still others when II
comes to telephone and telegraph lines.
The nineteen include the most populous
counties IN the state, and are listed az
follows. Cache, BOxelder. Weber, Nor
gan, Davis, Salt Lake, Tooele, Summit,
Utah, Sanpete Carbon. Emery. Grand,
Wasatch, Juab, Millard, Sewer, Piute
and Beaver, Most of them have Joined
IN the statements, OF which the follow
ing is a sample
A careful examination Of the rela.
tive values Of property on the assess
ment rolls Of Cache County, as shown
In the assessment made by the county
assessor under the rules made by the
state board OF equalization. aud In that
made by the state board itself on prop.
eity directly assessed thereby, reveals
such marked discrimination in the
proportionate share OF the burden OF
taxation borne by each. when com.
pared with actual values, that II seems
proper TO call attention of the state
board of equalization thereto, IN order
to secure a more equitable distribu-
ton OF the burden OF taxation.
Real estate and personal property in
Cache county, comprising residences,
farms, business property. improve
ments, merchandise, banks, manufac-
turing institutions and securities, are
assessed In general, by the county as
SCISSOR under the rule OF the state board
Of equalization at above seventy per
cent Of the actual value. or the assessed
value is what the property owner would
received for said property II sold.
Railway lines and equipment In the
county are assessed by the state board
OF equalization twenty(20) to twenty.
five (25) per cent OF the actual value.
1.-THE Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone
compan Is assessed for less than fifty
WI "n p No.. w. ~, 'os Ns,ue -
u,i,,st tsc,t,r,tra,Io,, ~, t',lt sn
49, 30 ,,.,i,,n,.,' a. ohe
,,nnI, ho,.,pn S,usor 49, W. oes
49, ne" .L. 'v t, Iuen P'opoiHoia'elS
''' s'is 20 80 ."e ~, osnei e,a ana A..
,o,'a Ue 90 e'd H. o, S r'i,. eUV nisn,
, ,''a. "a viz. u,'ss w.. wi'hvst coih,
vi a'e, NV cose Va siie otner, on III