Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-05-04
Nebraska
EQUALIZTNG BOARD
HAS FIRST SESSION
Telephone Company Objects to List
ing Earnings in Connection with
Assessment of Property.
RAILROADS MAKE COMPARISONS
CFrom a staff correspondentI

From Staff Correspondence
LINCOLN, May Especial 1.-THE new
State Board of Equalization and Assess
ment held it's first meeting today, the
board consisting OF Governor Morehead,
Land Commissioner Beckman. old mem
bers, and Secretary of state Pool. Treas
urer Hail. Auditor Smith and Secretary
Bernecker, new members. &C.,.
The first business transacted was an
application of the Lincoln Telephone and
Telegraph company for an endorsement
of blank form prepared by It for the
use of assessors In making the assess
ment of the property of tho company.
Tax Commissioner Hall of the company
and President Woods appeared, and Mr..
Hall explained to the board the reason
for the endorsement.
1t appears that some party has been
sending out to county assessors form
to be used which called for the assess
ment of all the property of the company.
and then on top of 1t a statement of the
earnings of the company. which was
added to the assment OF the property,
and the total amount was used for basing
taxation. Officers of the company read
an opinion of the attorney general inNlsiS
that taking the earnings could be done
only to ascertain the going value, and
that IL should not be added for assess
mept purposes. They desired the board
to endorce the new form in order that
assessors might know just what to do.
Tho old form bore the endorsement Of
the board, but no member Of the board
could remember giving any such endorse
ment. nor could the secretary find any
record of such action.
On motion of Treasurer Hall the mat
ter went over until the next meeting.
Railroads Restate Proposition.
The board then listened to r. v. Pol
lard, tax commissioner of the Burling-
ton railroad. read report showing the
unequal methods, used in the taxation of
the property of the company in compari-
son with other property.
Mr.. Pollard said that the state board
IN 1914 had assessed the road at $4t.924
per mile. The railroad commission gives
the reproduction value of the Burlington
at $4,000 per mile anad the deprecated
value at s96,673 per mile. The census
figures of 1911 placed the value OF lands
and improvements at &l.a2.Sl6,s in 1910.
: The state auditors report for the same
year shows the land and improvements
to be worth sos, GA, 65s. which. multiplied
by five, for full value, gives 81, 01S. 22S. $50.
so, according to the census, this class Of
property was only assessed and taxed on
5615 per cent of the total value.
The total assessed valuation OF the
state for 1910, exclusive of railroads, was
357.324,256 so that the farm lands and
improvements on same represent 56.S6 per
cent of the total He declared that Mr..
Reed. land expert OF the state Railway,
commission. placed the average value Of
land in Nebraska at s42.42 per. acre. The
average assessed valuation was $605,
or a full value Of s3O.25. According TO
Mr.. Reeds figures real estate IL only as
sessed at 1.S1 per cent OF full value.
Paying Too Much Already.
Taking these figures for a basis. Mr.
Pollard said that the railroad had been
paying taxes on basis of at least go, 600
per mile. 20 per cent OF s600OO being
$4,000 The net earnings of the road In
1914. according to figures filed with the
secretary of the board were s2,41s. being
SIT per cent ON the 1000 per mile which
the road is assessed and only 40s per cent
on the actual value taxed OF 10000 per
mile. The road now pays 500 per cent of
its gross earnings and 15.l7 per cent Of
it's net earnings for taxes in Nebraska.
out Of these net earnings interest on
debt and dividends on stock must be
paid. In concluding HIS remarks Mr.. Pol
lard said that on the above figures the
railroad should be only taxed soO1O1 per
mile
He also showed that while the miles
OF main track remained practically the
Same taxes paid by the railroads had
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