The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-03-22
"SECTION 80" STAYS
IN MACHINERY ACT
Changes From the Old Law
are Very Few.
TRUE VALUE IN MONEY
Tax Payers Need Not Give Details as to Debts
SHERIFF Must Furnish List Of Taxabes
Under Schedule B. and {. in
His County.


The Machinery Act, an act to provide
for the assessment of property and the
collection of taxes, remains in most of
its material features unchanged from the
law of 1901. The powers of the orpor
alton Commission as a Board of State
Tax Commissioners are undiminished and
perhaps the most important section of
all, section so of the old act, is inserted
in the new law without the change of a
letter. 1t is numbered SO in the new act
and is entitled TANGIBLE AND INTAN-
GIBLE PROPERTY ASSESSED SEPA-
RATELY and reads as follows:
"(a) The said Commissioners shall first
determine the value of the tangible prop
erty of each division or branch of such
railroad, or rolling stock, and all other
physical and tangible property. This
value shall be determined by due con-
sideration of the actual cost to replace
the property, with a just allowance for
depreciation on rolling stock, and also
of other conditions to be considered as
in the case of private property. (bl
They shall then assess the value of the
franchise, which shall be determined by
due consideration of the gross earnings
as compared with the operating aexpen-
ses; and particularly by consideration of
the value placed upon the whole property
by the public (the value of the physical
property being deducted), as evidenced
by the market. value of all capital stock.
certificates Of Indebtedness, bonds or any
other securities, the value Of which is
~
property. (c) The aggregate value of the
physical or tangible property and the
franchise as thus determined shall be
the true value Ct the property for the
purpose of an ad valorem taxation, and
Shall be apportioned in the same pro-
portion that the length of such road in
each county bears to the entire length of
such division or branch road in each
county bears to the entire length of such
division or branch t.-ereof; and the Cor
poration Commission shall certify to the
chairman of the County Commissioners
and the mayor Of each city or incorpor-
ated town the amount apportioned to
his county, city or town, and the said
commission shall make and forward a
like certificate to the Auditor of the
State. All taxes due the State from any
railroad company. except the tax imposed
for school purposes, shall be paid by
tho treasurer of each company directly
TO the State Treasurer within thirty days
after the first day OF July of each year,
and upon failure to pay the State Treas
urer as aforesaid, he shall institute an
action to enforce the same in the county
of Wake, or any other county in which
such railroad is located. adding thereto
twenty-five percentum of the tax The
Board of County Commissioners of each
county through which said railroad
passes shall assess against the same only
the TAX imposed by the State for school
purposes and those imposed for county
purposes"
The Importance of this section is due
to the fact that while it was in the for
mer law, it has never been enforced.
In 1902 the Supreme Court decided the
famous case of Jackson VS. the Corpora
ton Commission against the collection
OF the tax provided for in this section,
affirming the contention of the railroads
that this section ought not to be en-
forced until the quadrennial assessment
OF real property for taxation, which will
take place in 1908
Thus for the first time this year this
part of the Machinery Act will be en-
forced. although it has been on the sta
tutcs for two years.
It was not without a hard fight that
this section was retained in its entirety.
The railroads wanted it stricken out alto
gether before it had been tried There
were several warm and protract-
ed hearings before the Joint
Committee ond Finance. in which
the railroad men and their at
torneys exhausted every argument that
human ingenuity could discover or that
the fear Of little extra taxation could
suggest Ii was a battle royal between