Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1906-02-22
BALk At
FOUR Per CENT TAX
Great Northern Pays Three Per
Cent and Will Garry the
Fight Into Courts.

Fight Into Courts.
The Great Northern Railway COM
pany refuses to pay the 4 per cent
gross. earnings tax. State author
tiles got first news of the company s
Intention to contest the new law to-
day, when the company's statement
was filed with the railroad commits
sion. A separate statement is filed
for the main system, which is leased
from companies having the per
cent charters. The earnings for the
year were sl8, $40, 396.27, and the
company computed the tax at 3 per
cent making it 1856, 2ll.se.
3 The clerk of the railroad commits
sion crossed out these hgures insert
ing 4 per cent instead of 3, and max
ing the tax s74l, ,615. IS. The state
auditor will make his draft for the
latter amount and turn it over to
the state treasurer for collection.
The company has already paid $780,,
QUO and will pay the rest of the 3 per
cent tax. The attorney general will
bring suit to collect the s185, 4O3. 96
that is held back, and this will pre-
| cipitate great legal battle. If the
fstate courts sustain the law, the case
will be carried to the supreme court
of the United States. That court,
when it decided the Anderson land
tax case against the state, said that
ii it were a question of increasing
the tax, a different issue would be
presented. This is considered by the
state to mean that the court would
recognize the right to increase the
ltax.
The Great Northern will pay per
cent on it's other lines without ques-
tfon. The Wilmar & Sioux Falls re-
ports earnings of 81, ,O54, 695. o., and
will pay tax of s42, 1870. The
1 1 Minneapolis e Western pays on
earnings of $50, ,573.59 a tax of
81, 3s2. 81. The Minnesota Great
Northern pays on gross earnings Of
s3l, 800. IS tax of 81, 276.O5, and also
pays 1905 on 1904 earnings not report
ed. The Park Rapids-Leech Lake
line reports earnings of sl19. $50. 81
and pays tax of s4,774.76. The
per cent return is paid on the slime
leased from the St. Paul, Minneapolis
& Manitoba and Eastern Railway
company OF Minnesota, St. Paul and
Minneapolis, St. Vincent and Breck-
enridge, Coon Creek to Wisconsin
state line. -
The Great Western, which pays
under per cent charter, has not
been heard from, but is also expect
ed to contest.
The Dubuque g. Sioux City, leased
by the Illinois Central, today report
ed earnings of ss3, $3.50. II and pays
s3, 346. 40 in taxes. ...., ..... -....-
The state auditors's office has tigur-
ed on receipts of 50, OOO, 600, based on
4..per cent. The Great Western,
Minneapolis & Pacific are yet to re-
port, and have been estimated.
The contest by the Great Northern
and Great Western will keep the
amount paid this month down to
about 81, $50, 600, but this is great
increase over last year, when the
total collected was 81, ,9ll, l94.43.
| The contest therefore does not
cripple the state financially. When
the per cent bill was being debated
in the legislature, a bugaboo was
raised by its opponents. They said
the railroads would refuse to pay any
of the tax, and the state would suffer
for lack of the money. The law pass
ed, however, provides that before
contesting the increase in court the
companies must have already paid
the per cent.