Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1907-05-03
MORE TAX IDEAS
State Senator Howe Talks On Three
General Features.
Home Rule, Quadrennia Property
Valuations and Franchise Taxes Are
Subjects He Discusses.

NSluatlonS ana fTancnlSe axes ARC
Subjects He Discusses.
(An address before the Ohio Tax
Commission by Senator Frederick G.
Howe, Hearing March 10, 1900
l have not attempted in this argu-
ment to take up the subject in all
of its bearings. have been content
with three general features: The
taxation of those corporations That
enjoy franchises, the question of the
decennial valuation of property, ad-
vocating a re-valuatinn of real prop
erty in the state every four years.
and local option, or local home rule
in taxation.
The taxation of corporations, OF
competitive character, seems to me to
be very adequately cared for in the
Willis bill; but the other class, the
franchise corporations, steam rail-
roads, telegraphs, telephones, express
companies, street railways, gas, elec-
trio lighting, water companies, all of
which are privileged enterprises,
whose value exists because of grant
from the city, or some privileges
which they enjoy from the state. Cor
porations of this sort are both H.
adequately taxed as compared with
the same class of property in other
states.
The present method of valuation of
railroads was adopted many years
ago, possibly at the time the constitu-
ton was adopted, when there was no
very great difference in property. 1t
was all visible and accessible. We
got our taxing system under those
circumstances and we have not sub
stantially altered it from that day to
this In the meantime immense cor
porations have come into existence,
and are still taxed on what is really
q scrap basis, they are assessed piece
meal. The assessment of railroad is
made by the county auditors. There
is no attempt under the law to get at
the railroad as a unit, as complete
thing; there is no attempt to measure
its earning capacity; nc attempt to
get at its stock and bond value; no
attempt to reach its franchise at all.
The same is true of street railways,
gas companies and all franchise cor
porations.
In many other states, probably dozen
or fifteen, the Ohio method of Valuing
merely the physical property has been
abandoned for what is generally spoken
of as the franchise tax. The interstate
commerce commission make a report of
the amount of taxes paid by the railroads
in the United States, including excise
| license, real estae, or any tax which they
! nav. From the report of 1905, which is
| found in Statistics of railways, page 100,
| it appears that the railways of Massa-
| chusetts, for instance, pay SLATE per
mile of single track; of Connecticut
| s.. .259; Rhode Island, $l.049; District Of
Columbia, $1,349; and of New Jersey,
where the entire state seems to be or
ganized in a movement for taxation Of
railways-it has been the most important
issue in their politics for two or three
years-and so far as 1 know nobody
Questions but what the railways there
are very lowly taXed-but in New Jersey
they pay SS4S.00 per mile single track;
while in Ohio, on the other hand, the to-
tai tax on the railways is S47S.OO per mile
single track.
The Decennlal Valuation of Property.
At the present time we assess real
| property once every ten years. 1t is as
| sssed by local appraisers elected from
every ward and township. That is a sur
yival from the time when this was an
| agricultural state; there were no great
| cities. and it was probably substantially
| lust. In New York, and many of the
| states. instead of assessing land and i'm
| proyements every ten years, they are as
| sessed every year. In almost all states
| know they assess at least once in every
three years. We assess once In every
| ten years. At the last session of the
| assembly asked the auditors of num-
| her of counties to aid me in the prepara-
| tion of a bill dealing with this question;
| and from whatever section or county
| they came they told the same story, that
| the last appraisement of 1900 was most
| unequal They told OF property on oppo-
| site sides of the same street assessed al
| 10 per cent and some at 100 per cent OF
| its value But ten years is not often
| enough to assess property which is chang
| ing in value as rapidly as much of the
property in Ohio is. We have, If I recol-
| lect rightly, Sc towns or cities. We prob
! ably have more big towns than any
| state in the Union, ranging from half 6
| million down to $4,000. In these big cities
| land values change very rapidly; and yet
| under our laws today there is no means
by which land can be gotten on the ta,
| duplicate.
Home Rule In Taxation.
Some years ago there was submitted t.
the voters of this state a constitutions
| amendment which exempted securities o.
| counties and cities from taxation. At tn,
last session of the assembly a resolution
was introduced to put the constitution
back In it's former condition. AT tht
same time the Ohio State Board of Com
merce had a resolution which it was urg
ing, providing for some sort OF classified
tion of property, so that 1t would be pos
sible for us to DO as they do in Pennsyl
vania, where they put personal propert!
on the duplicate at mills, and l thini
they get as big a revenue at mills a.
we do at %.
worked over that measure with SOM
members of the senate last winter ant
finally drafted a substitute to the Ia;
clause of the constitution, Article xii, Sec
ton 2, which adds to the section as 1
existed up to the time of the last amend
.s,ant rrnvIctnn for lOpa1 OntiOn If lava