The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-02-12
COUNTIES TO
RECEIVE PART
':0F .R.'R.. TAXES /
Under Agreement With Attorney
General Railways Will Pay
Proportion ...
EXCESSIVE BURDEN CLAIM

As a result of an agreement arrived
at Monday afternoon, Attorney Gen
eral LANCER will advise North Dakota
counties to accept the present pay
ment of that proportion of the 1917
railway taxes which are not in dis
pute, allowing the, disputed portion tc
accumulate until actions begun in the
United States district court at Fargo
on Monday by the Great Northern,
Northern Pacific and Farmers Grain
& Shipping railway shall have been
determined. 1,ra ..,'
The attorney general decided upon
this course following a conference
with Judge N. G. Young, of Fargo,
counsel for the Northern Pacific; c..
j. Murphy of Grand Forks, represent
ing the Great Northern, and Fred j..
Traynor Of Devils Lake, attorney for
the Farmers. The railroads urged that
they be permitted to pay that portion
Of their tax about which there is no
dispute rather than that the counties
be deprived of this entire revenue
pending a decision Of the suits.
Reason for Action ,..
The suits will be based upon two
propositions, first that the full valu-
alton put upon the roads by the state
board of equalization are more than
the roads are actually worth, second
that the bulk Of the general property
of the state is not assessed at more
than 20 percent Of it's actual value.
That if the railroads were assessed at
the percentage of actual value at
which other property is assessed, their
assessment would be so percent low
er. Put in another way: that lands
and other properties are assessed at
2O'percent of actual value while these
two railroads are assessed at 80 per-
cent of full value This difference be-
tween 20 per cent and 80 percent
makes a difference in tax Of so per-
cent, and it is this excess of so per-
cent which the roads are taking into
the federal court TO illustrate, by a
concrete case: In Griggs county the
Northern Pacific is assessed $494,326.
This is 30 percent of an actual value
of $1.644,420. The company claims It
should have been assessed at 20 per-
cent of full value, which would have
produced an assessment in Griggs
county of $32S,SS4. The assessment
is therefore so per cent more than it
should have been, according to the
claims of the company. =. J.. ,---..
Big Excuses Claimed.
In 1916 the Northern Pacific paid
taxes of $C76,520; for 1917 the county
tax rolls charge them with $1,O2S,003,
an increase OF 1851, 4S4. The company
will claim the taxes are excessive and
illegal to the extent of $343,667, which
is approximately the amount they will
ask the court to set aside.
The Great Northern taxes of 1916
were $SS4,S11.SO; for 1917 they are
$1,23G,965, and they are asking the
court to cancel an illegal excess of
$412-321. ~. ,,
In 1916 the old state board of equal
ization assessed the Great Northern
company at $20,152,048, and the Nor
thern Pacific at $16,132,997. The state
tax commission, in 1917, after an inl
vestigation extending over a long
time, held that the Great Northern
was worth, full value, $9S,494,772 in
North Dakota, and that the Northern
Pacific was worth $S4,S2S,292. They
recommended to the state board OF
equalization that the. roads be assess
ed at % per cent of full value, which
would result in an assessment OF $Z4,-
623,693 against the Great Northern
and $21,2O7,O73 against the Northern
Pacific. .'...
When this recommendation came
before the board representatives OF
the railroads also appeared, and evi,
dence and data were presented on be-
half of the railroads establishing, &C
cording to their contention, that the
valuation recommended by the tax
commission was in fact excessive to
the extent of about 20 per cent. The
board of equalization disregarded the
claims of both the commission and
railroad Representatives and increased
the valuation Is percent over that rec
commended by the commission. a
This action resulted in a full valua-
ton of $113,26S,9SS for the Great Nor.
thern and $97,552,536 for the Northern
Pacific, and assessed valuations of