The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-14
Returns From All Business on Tax
 Values

Values
 But, waiving all question of the cost of doing intrastate business, waIving all question of the states want of authority over the intrastate business and over the postal business of this company, there is certainly no difficulty In determining, first, the total revenues of the company, in- cuding the South and North Alabama railroad; second, the total expenses and third, the fair value of this companys property. We have stated that the actual cost of reproduction. new, of this com pany's property, as 1t now st Ands, in this state. will exceed $60.000,0 GOO. But, for the purposes of this statement. we will waive the question of the cost of reproduction of this companys property in this state. We are willing to waive the great mass of property which this company owns out of this state, such as working capital, | general office building, current assets and the like, not assessable for taxation here, but which are devoted to the use of the people of this state in common with the people of other states, and for a proper proportion of which this state should just ly be charged We are willing to accept the valuation of the property as ascer- tained by the state tax commissioner of Alabama, under their baths of office, ap- plying to that valuation the 60 per cent rule fixed by the statutes of this state
  which had been used by the tax authori- ties for several years previous to the en- actment of the statute. We will also treaA the Louisville and Nashville and South and North Alabama railroads as one, just as they were treated in the acts of the legislature and just as, in fact, they are operated. We will consider all busi- | ness from every source and we will invite any competent accountant of good stand | ing in the state of Alabama employed by the distinguished committee of wholesale grocers and dry goods merchants who have now launched a campaign against | this company, to come to Louisville and | examine for such length of time as may | be necessary the entire accounts of this | company and to verify or refute these statements.
 Tax Values
 The assessed value of the property of | the Louisville and Nashville railroad in | Alabama for the year 1911, excluding the | South and North Alabama, was $21, ,575, ,9S9. | The assessed value of the South and North | Alabama for the same year was s10.079 259. The total for the two amounted to S31,- l 6s5,24S This amount raised to 100 per | cent, which was the method fixed by the | statute, as well as by the previous rule | of the state tax commission, represented | an ascertained value of s52. 75S,S1333
 Add to this the value of trackage rights | operated by this company in this state, | upon which the taxes are paid in the | name of other companies. s1 1.334, ,331 .97. and | we have the value of s54.093, 145. 90. We add | nothing for the general office buildings | and for the large amount of current as- sets and working capital the situs of | which, for taxation purposes, is out of | this state, the Alabama proportion of | which would amount to several million | dollars
 Ta1r rfvo fnx- a1n to 100 per cent. as fixing the measure of | the value of the property we next take the net returns of the con/Jany from all | business, both of the South and North | Alabama railroad and the Louisville and | Nashville lines proper in the state of Ala bama for the five year period beginning | July l. 1906, and ending June 30 1911. We | will add that this period represents the E most profitable five year period in the | history of this company, from the stand point of gross business. The total net la come from all business. both interstate. and intrastate. and also including re- turns from postal receipts and express come. not deducting anything for divi- i dends or interest upon bonded debt, way s1S, ,12s, SIG. 45. or s2.625, 723. % annually, or less than 4.9 per cent per annum on the tax value in this state alone.
 If to the tax value be added Ala Dama's proper proportion of current as- sets, office building, working capital and other property outside of the state. but | devoted to the business in this state. we would have net return of only A per cent annually.
 As the proof in the cases lately tried. without material contradiction, showed that it cost greatly more to earn Collar in the intrastate business than in the in- terstate business, 1t can be readily seen that the profits derived from intrastate business during this period were negligi- ble, if any at all, but. assuming that t | cost just the same to earn a dollar in intrastate business as in interstate 5usi- ness. the record shows upon the actual | value of the property as ascertained by the