South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-05-01
REPORT To UTILITY
BOARD CHECK FOR
TAX COMMISSION
Corporations Which Boost VAL
uatiOnS for Rate Making Pur-
poses Find Boomerang When
Tax Collectors Start Work.

INDIANAPOLIS, May How two
state departments. which were organ
lied with no particular consideration
given 10 the way they might inter-
weave their services to the state, have
become adjuncts to each other is be-
ing exempIified just now in Indianap-
oils, where the state board Of tax COM
missiOners Is IN session TO evaluate
property of corporations in Indiana,
which do inter-county business.
The public service commission, less
than a year old. already has collected
so much data from public utility COM
panies OF the state and has done IL so
thoroughly where the collections have
been made that the state board OF
tax commissioners has found it COM
paratively easy TO find where the
leaks are in the stories of attorneys
and other represe ntatives of utility
companies, when they come before the
board with hard-luck tales, seeking to
have their proportion of tax-paying
lessened by thousands OF dollars.
Must File Schedules.
The utilities are compelled TO file
schedules of their property. showing
It's values WIFI the SldAc bOdA "a VI N~i-N
commissioners. These schedules are
filed, Of course, for taXpaying purposes
and they are cOrrespOndingly cut 10
the bone" wherever values are men
toned. Now a great many OF these
same utility companies. forgetting that
they also have filed with the public
service commission inventories of their
property and answers to pertinent
questions concerning the values in the
property, appear before the tax board
with the most jaunty airs fDlagina bic.
There they are being confronted with
their sworn valueS-all based on the
theory that the values filed with the
public service commission are 10 be
considered eventually for rate-making
purposes. These values, of course,
are pushed up 10 the tOp-nOtch. When
the attorneys find they are confronted
with the public service commission
part Of their dilemma they make pc
culiar explanations TO the tax board,
regarding the discrepancies that uni
formly have been discovered in the an
swers 10 the two lists of questions.
The state tax board is not consider
ing the reports To the public service
commission on the values in the Indi-
ana utilities at the figures given there
on, because they realize that there are
many elements of utility business
considered in rate making that can
tons for taXpaying purposes. They
have found. however, that the "chack"
Of the public utility figures is perhaps
the most direct aid to their efforts To
secure a uniform. proper assessment
of the property Of the utilities that
has been found for years.
Here's One Discrepancy.
For instance, yesterday a utility
company from northern Indiana ap-
peared before the state board and
swOre that the total value of the plant
was 100000. Dan NJ. Link, a MEM
Der Of the board, remembered that he
had seen this utility cOmpanys an
swers TO certain questions from the
public service commission. The latter
answers were made to the commission
in the view of possible rate-making.
ON this list of questions the company
had placed the total value of it's plant
at exactly double that it had given in
to the tax board, or 100000
The tax commissioners realize that
such items as depreciation of prop
erty. labor trouble losses. and other
elements are not the same when con-
sidered for rate-making purposes and /
for tax paying purposes. Regardless
CT this discrepancy, however. there !
have been enough "niggers in the
woodpile" found already 10y the tax
board to almost pay the salaries of the
ubliC service comm ssoners for sew
eral years
May Correlate Work Further.
That another legislature probably
may correlate the work of the state
tax commissioners and the public SER
vice commissioners to such an extent
that even closer cooperation may be
possible. is believed true here Demo
cratic leaders here are preparing to
use this feature of the results of the
public utility law in Indiana as one
Of their preaChments in the coming
campaign. IL will be effective. mem
bers of both boards declare. because
the figures are on the books OF both
commissions and may be CLEANED at
viii.