Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1903-02-02
RAIL WAY TAXATION IN WISCONSIN
the RAILROAD SIDE OF THE QUEs-
TON.
Amount of License Tax Paid by Wlscon-
sin Railroads.
ISSUED in Behalf Of Wisconsin Railways.)

ISSUED In BeDalI OF w lScOnSln Nal1WayS.J
The railroad companies of Wisconsin be-
lieyC they are already bearing their full
share Of the burdens of maintaining the
government of this state. Consequently
they feel that to add anything whatever to
the taxes they are now paying would be
unfair and to add such great sums as
have been proposed in some quarters would
be long step toward the absolute conisca-
ton OF their property.
Such being their views, they ask the peo-
PIE Of Wisconsin to suspend judgment as
to this controversy until they have pre-
sented their side. They promise to do this
IN the shortest space possible and in the
simplest manner which the facts will permit.
They will submit the facts they wish to
present in series of articles of which this
is the first.
THE ISSUE. 1t is always well to have
the point at issue clearly stated at the out
set. If this is not done, much time Is
wasted in the discussion of questions that
have little, and very often nothing at al,
to do with the real question. To prevent
this waste of words let us state what the
| issue in this controversy is and also what
| it is not This is the question before us:
| Do the railroads pay their full shale Of the
| taxes? II 1t can be shown that they do pay
| their full share, 1t makes no difference to
| the people of Wisconsin In what form the
taxes are collected or what they are called
| We have stated what the question before
| US is. Now let us state what 1t Is not.
The question is often discussed as though
it could, with equal accuracy, be put this
way: Do the railways pay on the FULL
value of their property the average rate of
taxation which is paid by other property
on its ASSESSED value. Of course the
question is never put In this bald, direct
form because the injustice Of such a COM
parison would be seen by every body; but
the question Is nevertheless discussed "a If
1t were fair to compare the late on the
full and even much more than the full
value Of railroad property with the rate
paid on the ASSESSED value Of other prop
erty which Is almost invariably much less
than It's full value.
II the statement of the subject we have
before us, which has just been made, Is
lect. then it Is fundamentally important
to ascertain, on the one hand, what Is the
total actual value of the real and personal
property In the state and the total amount
! of taxes paid on this property; and, on the
| other hand the total value which should
! be placed on the railroads and the total
| taxes or license fees paid by the railroads
| The whole question of whether or not the
! railroads are bearing their full share of the
| cost Of running the government depends OF
| the correctness of these figures. This Is
| true because the total taxes collected from
! all real and personal property in the state
! subject to taxation divided by the full value
! Of this property gives the average rate paid
| by these forms of property; and the tota;
! sum of license fees or taxes paid by the