Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-04-24
TRUE TALKS ON TAXATION
Holds Farm Lands Are UnderValued by
the Township Assessors,
RAILROADS SHRK MUNICIPAL I TAXES
by Distribution of Terminal Val AntiOn
city Loses at Least Fifty Thou
sand Dollars of Revenue
"a Is Entitled To.
RAILROADS sHRK MUNICIPAL \ TAXES

City Treasurer True in his annual report
iust completed, under the head Of Taxa
ton" subject to which he has given
probably more attention than any other
municipal official Of late years, discusses
this important problem in part as follows;
The one thing OF the most Importance &c
every city and its inhabitants Is taxation
il is also the hardest Of all problems with
which municipality has to deal, to pro-
portion the taxes, which are the basis Of
our existence, equitably and justly to all
property owners. While the law contem-
plates, or should, that all property should
eminent 1t is very evident 1t does not.
The township assessors of Pottawattamie
county, when they last met. fixed $4S per
the same valuation placed upon 1t two
years ago.
ject to taxation shall be valued at its ac-
tual value, which shall be entered oppo-
site each item, and shall be assessed at
% per cent Of such actual value. Such as
sessed value shall be taken and consld-
cred as the taxable value Of such property,
upon which the levy shall be made Actual
value Of property as used in this chapter
shall mean its value in the market in the
ordinary course Of trade"
Is SiS per acre the actual value of Potta-
wattamie county lands? To you who know
anything about It, or own farm lands or
who from day to day note the transfers of
titles Of the same and observe the prices
sold, / would like to ask If in your good
Judgment you consider that S4S per acre
would be the value that the laws of Iowa
contemplated? think that you will admit
that $40 per acre is nearer what it should
be.
While there may be some lands that are
worth less, there Is a great deal that is
worth and Is selling for more. II am cor
rect In my conclusions farm lands are as
other real estate or as is contemplated by
the law. Is there any good reason WIN
farm lands: which are Constantly advan-
cling In value, and for which there is a
good demand, should be assessed for Is
per cent less than other property?
Injustice to city.
This works a great injustice to real es-
tate In this city. for almost without ex-
value and for which there is limited de-
mand. is assessed at its actual value, or
at least az its market value, as con-
that such City property ~ pays y s per cent
more than its share Of the state and county
taxes compared with farm lands; It means
within the state, when before the state
executive council-consisting of the gov
ernor, auditor of state treasurer of state
and secretary of state-often show by
actual records of assessments and Of
actual transfers of farm lands and use II
as an argument and justly that farm
60 to 75 per cent OF their value IL would
be an Injustice to assess the railroads for
readily seen that city property pays at
least % per cent more in proportion than
railroad property, of the county and state
tax, even under the present method of as
sessing railroads, and I wish to call at
tention to the rank injustice to cities and
towns in Iowa, where the country Is once
more the gamer, and that is in the mode of
railroad assessment. which is termed the
unit system, in which the main line only
of railroads is assessed at a given amount
per mile, so that cities with all the Inn
provements within their limits, such as pas
senger and freight depots. shops, round
houses, coal chutes and hundreds of miles
of sidetrack actually worth millions of dol
lars, receive for the few miles OF main
track within their limited area only the
same valuation per mile as the country
township with its many miles, with only
right-of-way, a road bed and its ties
and rails.
1t costs the country nothing to support
their part, while the city is called upon
for fire, police and other protection, for the
millions Of dollars of railroad property
the city and property owners pave streets
and the city maintains the same, for which
the city gets very small part OF the just
amount OF taxes paid.
What Railroads Pay.
The Union Pacific railroad differs from
| all other railroads entering the city,
as all of the mileage Of the road