Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-01-20

The state board Of tax commissioners
valued the personal property of the
Washington Water, Light and Power
Company at only S165, 800
Engineers Of the public service com
mission valued the same property for
rate making purposes at $312,S14.
who's Who in America" gives James
Putnam Goodrich as the president of the
Washington Water, Light and Power
Company.
The state tax board originally assessed
the property at SS5 600, but later changed
it's mind and increased it to a figure only
E146954 less than its actual cash value
as made by the public service commits
sion and accepted by the company as
fair valuation for rate making purposes.
AND PROPERTY
DID NOT BURN.
The public service commission made Its
valuation May /. 1915 The valuation by
the state board of tax commissioners was
made about a year afterward. The conf
pany's property did not burn nor did
anything else happen during the year
between the two assessments to change
the value to any appreciable extent.
The tax rate in the city of Wash
ington is 1922 for each 500 worth of
property. At this rate the company,
of which Gov. Goodrich is president,
would pay S3,6S2.09 taxes under the val
uation of the tax commission. If the
rates were paid on the valuation of the
public service commission, which is as
near the actual value of the property as
expert engineers can estimate, the taxes
would be $6944.47
GOODRICH'S FIRM
SAVES S3,262.
Thus, Jim Goodrich and his company
saved in one years taxes a mere matter
of $3,262. At the same time the utility
is charging its customers a rate which
is based on the valuation made by the
public service commission. The COM
pany is, under the provision of the pub
lie service commission, making a fixed
percentage of profit of a valution of more
than S146,000 higher than the valuation
on which it is paying taxes.
In this way the public is paying twice.
II the property Is worth what the tax
board says it is, the company should
greatly reduce its rates, for it is making
profit far in excess of that allowed
on basis Of the worth of it's property
The public is paying the difference.
IT, on the other hand, the company is
worth what the public service commits
sion says it is worth, it is cheating the
state, the county, and the-city- of WASH
ington out of $3262 in taxes this year.
II pl6 tdApdEeI OOuStS HIS just snare OI
taxation, the other taxpayers must make
it up. as so often pointed out by the
tax board
GOVERNORS FIRM
WINS TWO WAYS.
One thing is quite evident-Jim Good
rich's company is winning both ways.
He is collecting high rates based on a
valuation liked by a board which he ap-
pointed. At the same time he is paying
a small amount of taxes based on a valu-
alton by another board, which he ap-
pointed. And the public is losing both
ways, for it must pay the high rates and
1t must make up the difference between
the taxes the Goodrich company actually
pays and the taxes it should pay.
This is simply another example Of the
true cash valuations made by the state
tax board. In this case it had original
jurisdiction and must assume complete
responsibility for the valuation. 1t must
be admitted. however, that the assessed
value is little larger proportion of the
actnal value in the case of the Washing
ton Water, Light and Power Company
than in the case Of the indianapolis
News, which was valued at $295, ,130 by
the taxing officials and at $1,500,000 by
appraisers OF the probate court.