Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-12-19
\. |. REF USES
s350,000 TAX
ASSESSMENT
Mineral Rights Held
After Selling Land;
Big Cascade Acreage.
Road Claims State Set
Valuation Too High; !;
Holds Tax Is Illegal.
(Tribune's Helena Eureau.)

Helena, Dec. 1S-Three hundred and
/ fifty thousand dollars IN taxes assessed
against the Northern Pacific Railway
company throughout Montana this wear
remain delinquent upon the tax books
because of the refGsa! Of the railway
company to pay the assessment ordered
by the state board Of equalization upon
its mineral reservations.
Property formerly owned by the
Northern Pacific and sold by the com
pany upon which it retained the mineral
rights amounts to about 800. 600 acres
scattered through about 80 counties of
the state. OF this about 10000 acres
lie in Cascade county. Heretofore. in
most of the counties. this mineral right.
if assessed at all. was assessed at a
very nominal sum. upon which the tax
was slight.
This year the state board of assess
mant directed the assessors of the
several counties TO place an assessment
of not less than S. per acre upon these
rights. This order was carried out in
most of the counties of the state. the
assessment being placed at s. with the
exception of Musselshell county, where
figure which had been utilized in that
county for several years.
Levies Made
Accordingly the assessment for the
mineral rights held by the Northern
Pacific railway in all of the state to-
tailed amout SS.500,000. and upon this
the levies aggregated about $3.50, 900.
The Northern Pacific while willing
to pay upon a small assessment. bucked
upon tine imposition of taxes as OF
dered By the state board of equalization
and allowed this portion of its tax to
go delinquent The company holds that
the tax is Illegal, us now assessed. and
that it has not been imposed in ac-
cordance with the ruling of the Mon
tana supreme court bearing upon this
subject and which was handed down
July Q. 1917.
This ruling was brought out in the
appeal of the Northern Paciec from
the action of district court in pro-
ceeding brought against the county of
Musselshel to enjoin the issuance of
q tax deed 10 the county for the pur
chase OF delinquent taxes upon plain
tlffs mineral reservations
In this appeal the supreme court.
in an opinion delivered by the late
Chief Justice Brantly and concurred in
by the two associate justices. held that
coal in place found in lands granted
by the government to the Northern
Pacific. which coal the company re
serves to itself in deeds to portions
of the land sold by it. constitutes a
mine and as such. in its undeveloped
is not a proper subject for
taxation.
1t was further held that the right.
also referred to in the deeds. TO such
use of the surface of the land as may
be necessary for exploration. mining
and carrying away of the coal that
may be found below. is valuable in
terest in the land itself and as such
properly subject to taxation.
Use of Surface
However. the decision held. the tax
able value of this right to use the sur
face is TO be estimated as If the entire
tract was vested in the grantee tpur-
chaser of the land1, the assessor to
make an equitable apportionment of the
value between the grantee and the rail
way company.
In other words. the mineral right
MAS to be assessed upon the same
oasis as the land was assessed for tax
purposes and the amount which the
'ailroad was to pay for the use of the
surface for mining operations was to
,e, deducted from the total assessment
If the tract. leaving the remainder TO
,e assessed to the land owner.
Although this decision was rendered !.
n n Musselshell county case, that |
,ounty persists in the assessment of !
10 per acre against the Northern Pa |
.ific mineral rights. For two years |
he Northern Pacific has refused to pay /
axes upon this assessment in Mus !
;elshell county and ii will await an !
lttempt upon the part of the county
o sell tax deed to the mineral rights /
iefore going into court to enjoin the I
'ounty In the meanwhile the taxes /
lpon the company's mineral reservs-
ions in other counties in the stae will
entinue delinquent.