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Timestamp: 2019-04-25 19:45:55+00:00

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Justia › US Law › US Case Law › US Supreme Court › Volume 127 › California v. Central Pacific R. Co.
board, and not by the state board. This Court, following that decision and that of Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Co., 118 U. S. 394, holds that the assessment of the steamers of a railroad company by the state board is in violation of the Constitution of California and void, and, being inseparably blended with the other property assessed, it makes the whole assessment void.
The State Board of Equalization of California having included in their assessment all the franchises of a railroad company, amongst which were franchises conferred by the United states, of constructing a railroad from the Pacific Ocean across the state as well as across the territories of the United States, and of taking toll thereon, held that the assessment of these franchises was repugnant to the Constitution and laws of the United States and the power given to Congress to regulate commerce among the several states.
Franchises conferred by Congress cannot, without its permission, be taxed by the states.
Congress has authority, in the exercise of its power to regulate commerce among the several states, to construct or authorize individuals or corporations to construct, railroads across the states and Territories of the United States.
These cases were argued together. They all involved the constitutionality of tax laws of the California, in many respects the same constitutional questions being presented as those which were argued (and not decided) in Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company, 118 U. S. 394.
Each action was brought by the people of the California to recover a tax assessed upon the property and franchises of the defendant.
property had been included in the valuation in violation of the provisions of the Constitution of California, thereby invalidating the whole assessment.
the defendant, to review which the plaintiff below, in each case sued out a writ of error.
represented the property illegally included therein, thus rendering the entire assessment in each case void. It was on this latter ground that the judgments for the defendants in the former cases were affirmed. If these defenses, or either of them, are supported by the facts, it is unnecessary for us to decide the question raised under the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. The questions arising under that amendment are so numerous and embarrassing, and require such careful scrutiny and consideration, that great caution is required in meeting and disposing of them. By proceeding step by step and only deciding what it is necessary to decide, light will gradually open upon the whole subject and lead the way to a satisfactory solution of the problems that belong to it. We prefer not to anticipate these problems when they are not necessarily involved.
the entire assessment roll, or any assessment contained therein, so as to equalize the assessment of the property contained in said assessment roll and make the assessment conform to the true value in money of the property contained in said roll."
"SEC. 10. All property, except as hereinafter in this section provided, shall be assessed in the county, city, city and county, town, township, or district in which it is situated, in the manner prescribed by law. The franchise, roadway, roadbed, rails, and rolling stock of all railroads operated in more than one county in this state shall be assessed by the State Board of Equalization at their actual value, and the same shall be apportioned to the counties, cities and counties, cities, towns, townships, and districts, in which such railroads are located, in proportion to the number of miles of railway laid in such counties, cities and counties, cities, towns, townships, and districts."
The last section shows explicitly that in regard to a railroad, the state board has power to assess only five things -- the franchise, roadway, roadbed, rails, and rolling stock. The county boards are authorized to assess all the rest of the property. If the state board includes in its assessment any more of the railroad property than it is authorized to do, the assessment will be pro tanto illegal and void. If the unlawful part can be separated from that which is lawful, the former may be declared void and the latter may stand, but if the different parts, lawful and unlawful, are blended together in one indivisible assessment, it makes the entire assessment illegal. This is so well settled that it needs no citation of authorities further than to refer to the opinion of this Court in the former cases (118 U.S.). In the present assessments, all parts of the property are blended together and are inseparable. If it be true, therefore, that property not authorized to be included in the assessments is included therein, the assessments must be declared void.
The Legislature of California, in passing laws for carrying out the principles and methods of taxation laid down in the Constitution, has deviated from its words and has adopted some provisions which would seem to be a departure from it.
"The franchise, roadway, roadbed, rails, and rolling stock of all railroads operated in more than one county in this state shall be assessed by the State Board of Equalization as hereinafter provided for. Other franchises, if granted by the authorities of a county, city, or city and county, must be assessed in the county, city, or city and county, within which they were granted. If granted by any other authority, they must be assessed in the county in which the corporations, firms, or persons owning or holding them have their principal place of business. All other taxable property shall be assessed in the county, city, city and county, town, township, or district in which it is situated. . . . The assessor must, between the first Mondays of March and July in each year, ascertain the names of all taxable inhabitants and all property in his county subject to taxation except such as is required to be assessed by the State Board of Equalization, and must assess such property to the person by whom it was owned or claimed, or in whose possession or control it was at 12 o'clock of the first Monday next preceding."
which divide the road. The depots, stations, shops, and buildings erected upon the space covered by the right of way are assessed by the assessor of the county wherein they are situate. Within ten days after the third Monday of August, the board must apportion the total assessment of the franchise, roadway, roadbed, rails, and rolling stock of each railway to the counties and cities or counties in which such railway is located, in proportion to the number of miles of railway laid in such counties and cities and counties."
"wharves and moles upon which the track is laid, and all steamers which are engaged in transporting passengers, freights, and passenger and freight cars across waters which divide the road."
This is clearly an enlargement of the terms of the constitution. Steamers, at least, are not and have been held by the Supreme Court of California not to be embraced in the five categories.
value. For more than four years past, the defendant has been the owner of two steam ferry boats, one of the tonnage of 1,566 tons and one of the tonnage of 1,012 tons, and during the whole of that time has used said boats for the purposes aforesaid. Said boats now are, and for more than four years last past have been, of a class which are by law required to be registered, and now are, and for more than four years last past have been, duly registered and enrolled in the City and County of San Francisco, State of California."
"The State Board of Equalization, in making said pretended assessment of the said roadway, roadbed, rails, and rolling stock of defendant, did willfully and designedly include in the valuation thereof the value of said boats, and the value of said boats is blended in said pretended assessment with the value of said roadway, roadbed, rails, and rolling stock, and there is no means by which such value can be separated from the valuation placed by said board upon said roadway, roadbed, rails, and rolling stock, or either of them."
of property mentioned in § 3665 of the Political Code of California, as amended March 9, 1883, except depots, stations, shops, and buildings erected upon the space covered by the right of way, which last-mentioned property was assessed, as provided in said section, by local assessors."
This is a clear affirmation of the allegation of the answer. Section 3665 of the Political Code, as amended March 9, 1883, requires the State Board of Equalization to include in their assessment of railroad property "all steamers which are engaged in transporting passengers, freights, and passenger and freight cars across waters which divide the road." It is a matter of public notoriety, as much so as the existence of the railroad itself, or that of the Sierra Nevada, or any other geographical feature on the route, that the railroad companies in the cases referred to have steam ferry boats engaged in the transportation of passengers and freight across the bay of San Francisco and the Straits of Carquinez, and that, without such means of transportation, those waters could not be crossed.
point within said city to the eastern shore of the southern arm of the Bay of San Francisco; that from said point on the eastern shore . . . to a point on the western shore of said bay, where the railway of defendant again commences, is about twelve miles; that across said bay no line of railroad has been constructed, and freight and passengers carried upon said road are taken across said bay upon steam ferry boats; . . . that upon the decks of said vessels are laid railroad tracks,"
"The sole question presented for decision herein is whether the steamers Thoroughfare and Transit, mentioned in the above findings, are to be assessed by the assessor of the City and County of San Francisco or by the State Board of Equalization. The property to be assessed by the board is defined in the 10th section of article IX [XIII] of the constitution of 1879. It is the franchise, roadway, roadbed, rails, and rolling stock of all railroads operated in more than one county of the state. All property other than the above mentioned is to be assessed by the local assessors. Are the steamers above named embraced within the category of property named in the section above referred to? The relation of such steamers to the Central Pacific Railroad Company is set forth in the findings."
"We are of opinion that the assessment of the steamers above mentioned pertained to the local assessor, and was properly made by the Assessor of the City and County of San Francisco."
This decision was made in June, 1883, and is a construction of the Constitution of California. It follows that the Act of March, 9, 1883, as reproduced in § 3665 of the Political Code, departs from the constitutional provision, and that the assessments, in following the act, are also unconstitutional and void.
the assessment, did knowingly and designedly include in the valuation of the roadway the value of fences erected upon the line between said roadway and the land of coterminous proprietors. This brings that case precisely within the decision made in the former cases reported in the 118th United States Reports.
Another defense set up by the Central Pacific Railroad Company in the three cases against it -- namely Nos. 660, 664, and 1,157 -- and by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company in No. 661 is that the State Board of Equalization included in their assessments in said cases the value of the franchises conferred upon said companies by the United States, which, it is contended, is repugnant to the Constitution and laws of the United States and therefore void. Thus, in No. 660, the Central Pacific Railroad Company, in its answer, after reciting the various acts of Congress conferring franchises and privileges and imposing duties upon the company, avers that it is a federal corporation, and holds its corporate powers and franchises under the government of the United States, and that the said government has never given to the State of California the right to lay any tax upon the franchise, existence, or operations of the company. Similar averments are made in the other cases, 664, 1,157, and 661. The court finds in each of these cases that the assessment made by the State Board of Equalization included the full value of all franchises and corporate powers held and exercised by the defendant. The first question, then, is whether the defendants in these cases held any franchises granted to them by the government of the United States. Of this there can hardly be a doubt.
for the purpose of constructing, owning, and operating a line of railroad and telegraph, commencing at the City of Sacramento in said state and running thence through the Counties of Sacramento, Placer, Sierra, and Nevada to the eastern boundary of said state in the expectation that its proposed railroad would, when constructed, constitute part of a line of railroad extending from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, which line it was then supposed was about to be constructed under the legislative supervision and authority of the government of the United States, and which line of railroad was afterwards so constructed."
"That on or about the 1st day of July, 1862, the government of the United States undertook to construct, or to cause to be constructed, a line of railroad from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, and to that end Congress passed an act entitled"
"An act to aid in the construction of a railroad from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, and to secure to the government the use of the same for postal, military, and other purposes."
"That to facilitate the construction of said road, the government of the United States, by said act of Congress, conferred upon the said Central Pacific Railroad Company of California the same powers, and clothed it with the same privileges and immunities, which it conferred upon and clothed the said Union Pacific Railroad Company, except that the said Central Pacific Railroad Company of California was to commence the construction of said railroad at the Pacific Ocean and build east until it met the said Union Pacific Railroad, building west."
"That on or about the 2d day of July, 1864, Congress passed an act entitled"
"An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, and to secure to the government of the United States the use for the same for postal, military, and other purposes,'"
"approved July 1, 1862. 13 Stat. 356, c. 216."
terms and conditions of said Act of Congress of July 1, 1862, within the time therein designated."
"That on or about the 31st day of October, 1864, said Central Pacific Railroad Company of California sold and assigned all its rights under the aforesaid acts to a corporation then existing under the laws of the State of California, and known as the Western Pacific Railroad Company, so far as said rights related to the construction of said railroad and telegraph between the Cities of San Jose and Sacramento, in said State of California. Said assignment was ratified and confirmed by the United States by an Act of Congress passed on the 3d day of March, 1865, entitled"
"An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, and to secure to the government the use of the same for postal, military, and other purposes,' approved July 1, 1862, and to amend an act amendatory thereof, approved July 2, 1864."
"13 Stat. 504, c. 88."
"That the said line of railroad from the Pacific Ocean to Ogden, in Utah Territory, was completed and put in operation in 1869, and has been in operation from that time until the present, and still is in operation, and the whole of the railroad mentioned in the said acts of Congress has long since been completed, and is now, in accordance with the spirit and intent of said acts of Congress, operated as one continuous line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, and is so operated and maintained for the uses and purposes mentioned in said acts."
"That in August, 1870, acting under the said acts of Congress, said Central Pacific Railroad Company of California and the said Western Railroad Company formed themselves into one corporation under the name of the Central Pacific Railroad Company. Said company is the defendant herein, and has, from the completion of said railroad as aforesaid until the present time, owned (except in the respect hereinafter stated) and operated said railroad under and by virtue of said acts of Congress, and for the uses and purposes therein mentioned. "
"to construct a railroad and telegraph line from the Pacific Coast at or near San Francisco, or the navigable waters of the Sacramento River, to the eastern boundary of California upon the same terms and conditions in all respects as are contained in this act for the construction of said railroad and telegraph line first mentioned [the Union Pacific], and to meet and connect with the first-mentioned railroad and telegraph line on the eastern boundary of California."
the Act of March 3, 1865, referred to in the findings of the court. The last-named act ratified the transfer by the Central Pacific to the Western Pacific of a portion of its road extending from San Jose to Sacramento, and conferred upon the latter company all the privileges and benefits of the several acts of Congress relating thereto, and subject to all the conditions thereof. If, therefore, the Central Pacific Railroad Company is not a federal corporation, its most important franchises, including that of constructing a railroad from the Pacific Ocean to Ogden City, were conferred upon it by Congress.
Pacific, traversing states as well as territories, and employing the agency of state as well as federal corporations. See Pacific Railroad Removal Cases, 115 U. S. 1, 115 U. S. 14-18.
of a legislative grant. This is a franchise. No persons can make themselves a body corporate and politic without legislative authority. Corporate capacity is a franchise. The list might be continued indefinitely.
In view of this description of the nature of a franchise, how can it be possible that a franchise granted by Congress can be subject to taxation by a state without the consent of Congress? Taxation is a burden, and may be laid so heavily as to destroy the thing taxed or render it valueless. As Chief Justice Marshall said in McCulloch v. Maryland, 4 Wheat. 316, "The power to tax involves the power to destroy." Recollecting the fundamental principle that the Constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States are the supreme law of the land, it seems to us almost absurd to contend that a power given to a person or corporation by the United States may be subjected to taxation by a state. The power conferred emanates from and is a portion of the power of the government that confers it. To tax it is not only derogatory to the dignity, but subversive of the powers, of the government and repugnant to its paramount sovereignty. It is unnecessary to cite cases on this subject. The principles laid down by this Court in McCulloch v. Maryland, 22 U. S. Bank, 9 Wheat. 817, and Brown v. Maryland, 12 Wheat. 436, and in numerous cases since, which have followed in their lead, abundantly sustain the views we have expressed. It may be added that these views are not in conflict with the decisions of this Court in Thomson v. Pacific Railroad, 9 Wall. 579, and Railroad Co. v. Peniston, 18 Wall. 5. As explained in the opinion of the Court in the latter case, the tax there was upon the property of the company, and not upon its franchises or operations. 18 Wall. 85 U. S. 35-37.
any valuation of the franchise at all, the tax may be arbitrarily laid. It is not an idle objection, therefore, made by the company against the tax imposed in the present cases.
'An act granting lands to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the states of Missouri and Arkansas to the Pacific Ocean,' which act was approved on said 27th day of July, 1866. 14 Stat. 292, c. 278. By said act, certain persons therein named were made and erected into a corporation under the name and style of the 'Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company.'"
"That to facilitate the construction of said road, the government of the United States, by said act of Congress, adopted the defendant as the instrument or agent of the United States and conferred upon defendant (the Southern Pacific Railroad Company) the same powers and clothed defendant with the same privileges and immunities which it conferred upon and clothed the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company with, except that the said defendant was to construct only that portion of said railroad between the Colorado River and the City and County of San Francisco."
"That said Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company organized under said act, . . . and said company and defendant, immediately after the passage of said act, accepted the terms and conditions thereof, and have duly complied therewith."
"The said Atlantic and Pacific Company has fully completed the whole of said road from Springfield to the Colorado River, and defendant has constructed said road, as aforesaid, to Mojave, with the exception hereinbefore set out."
purposes,' approved March 3, 1870, and subsequently, on the second day of May, 1872, passed an act entitled"
"An act supplementary to an act entitled 'An act to incorporate the Texas Pacific Railroad Company, and to aid in the construction of its road, and for other purposes,' approved March 3, 1871. 16 Stat. 573, c. 122; 17 Stat. 59, c. 132."
"That immediately after the passage of said Act of March, 1871, the Texas Pacific Railroad Company was organized in pursuance thereof, and it and defendant accepted all the terms and conditions of each of said acts of 1871 and 1872, and have fully and in every respect complied therewith, and under them, and in compliance with the spirit and intent of said acts, have completed the roads mentioned in the third finding [to-wit, the line of the defendant's railroads hereinbefore described]."
congress, and that franchise was accepted, and the roads have been constructed in conformity thereto. It conclusively appears, therefore, that the Southern Pacific Railroad Company did receive from the United States government, and still enjoys, important franchises connected with its railroads.
It follows that in each one of the now before us, the assessment made by the State Board of Equalization comprised the value of franchises or property which the board was prohibited by the constitution of the state from including therein, and that these values are so blended with the other items of which the assessment is composed that they cannot be separated therefrom. The assessments are therefore void. This renders it unnecessary to express any opinion on the application of the Fourteenth Amendment, as the result would not be different whatever view we might take on that subject.
The judgments in all the cases are affirmed.
"Section 1. All property in the state not exempt under the laws of the United States shall be taxed in proportion to its value, to be ascertained as provided by law. The word 'property' as used in this article and section is hereby declared to include moneys, credits, bonds, stocks, dues, franchises, and all other matters and things, real, personal and mixed, capable of private ownership, provided, that growing crops, property used exclusively for public schools, and such as may belong to the United States, this state, or to any county or municipal corporation within this state shall be exempt from taxation. The legislature may provide, except in the case of credits secured by mortgage or trust deed, for a deduction from, credits of debts due to bona fide residents of this state."
"Section 2. Land and the improvements thereon shall be separately assessed, etc."
"Section 4. A mortgage, deed of trust, contract, or other obligation by which a debt is secured shall, for the purposes of assessment and taxation, be deemed and treated as an interest in the property affected thereby. Except as to railroads and other quasi-public corporations, in case of debts so secured, the value of the property affected by such mortgage, deed of trust, contract, or obligation, less the value of such security, shall be assessed and taxed to the owner of the property, and the value of such security shall be assessed, and taxed to the owner thereof, in the county, city, or district in which the property affected thereby is situate. The taxes so levied shall he a lien upon the property and security, and may be paid by either party to such security; if paid by the owner of the security, the tax so levied upon the property affected thereby shall become a part of the debt so secured; if the owner of the property shall pay the taxes levied on such security, it shall constitute a payment thereon, and to the extent of such payment, a full discharge thereof, provided that if any such security or indebtedness shall be paid by any such debtor or debtors, after assessment and before the tax levy, the amount of such levy may likewise be retained by such debtor or debtors, and shall be computed according to the tax levy for the preceding year."
"Section 9. A State Board of Equalization, consisting of one member from each congressional district in this state, shall be elected by the qualified electors of their respective districts at the general election to be held in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine, whose term of office, after those first elected, shall be four years, whose duty it shall be to equalize the valuation of the taxable property of the several counties in the state for the purposes of taxation. The Controller of state shall be ex officio a member of the Board. The Boards of Supervisors of the several counties of the state shall constitute boards of equalization for their respective counties, whose duty it shall be to equalize the valuation of the taxable property in the county for the purpose of taxation, provided such state and county boards of equalization are hereby authorized and empowered, under such rules of notice as the county boards may prescribe as to the county assessments, and under such rules of notice as the state board may prescribe as to the action of the state board, to increase or lower the entire assessment roll, or any assessment contained therein, so as to equalize the assessment of the property contained in said assessment roll and make the assessment conform to the true value in money of the property contained in said roll. [This section was amended May 20, 1884, and one of the Central Pacific cases was commenced after the amendment took effect. But the counsel on both sides cited the section as here printed.]"
"Section 10. All property, except as hereinafter in this section provided, shall be assessed in the county, city and county, town, township, or district in which it is situated, in the manner prescribed by law. The franchise, roadway, roadbed, rails, and rolling stock of all railroads operated in more than one county in this state shall be assessed by the State Board of Equalization at their actual valve, and the same shall be apportioned to the counties, cities and counties, cities, towns, townships, and districts in which such railroads are located in proportion to the number of miles of railway laid in such counties, cities and counties, cities, towns, townships, and districts."
"The term 'improvements,' includes -- 1. All buildings, structures, fixtures, fences, and improvements erected upon or affixed to the land."
"Section 3627. All taxable property must be assessed at its full cash value. Land and improvements thereon shall be separately assessed. Cultivated and uncultivated land of the same quality and similarly situated shall be assessed at the same value. A mortgage, deed of trust, contract, or other obligation by which a debt is secured shall, for the purposes of assessment and taxation, be deemed and treated as an interest in the property affected thereby except as to railroad and other quasi-public corporations. In case of debts so secured, the value of the property affected by such mortgage, deed of trust, contract, or obligation, less the value of such security, shall be assessed and taxed to the owner of the property, and the value of such security shall be assessed and taxed to the owner thereof, in the county, city, or district in which the property affected thereby is situated. The taxes so levied shall be a lien upon the property and security, and may be paid by either party to such security; if paid by the owner of the security, the tax so levied upon the property affected thereby shall become a part of the debt so secured. If the owner of the property shall pay the tax so levied on such security, it shall constitute a payment thereon, and, to the extent of such payment, a full discharge thereof. If any such security or indebtedness shall be paid by any such debtor or debtors, after assessment and before the tax levy, the amount of such levy may likewise be retained by such debtor or debtors, and shall be computed according to the tax levy for the preceding year, and every contract by which a debtor is obliged to pay any tax or assessment on money loaned, or on any mortgage, deed of trust, or other lien shall, as to any interest specified therein, and as to such tax or assessment, be null and void. [In effect March 7, 1881.]"
"Section 3628. The franchise, roadway, roadbed, rails, and rolling stock of all railroads operated in more than one county in this state shall be assessed by the State Board of Equalization as hereinafter provided for. Other franchises, if granted by the authorities of a county, city, or city and county, must be assessed in the county, city, or city and county within which they were granted; if granted by any other authority, they must be assessed in the county in which the corporations, firms, or persons owning or holding them have their principal place of business. All other taxable property shall be assessed in the county, city, city and county, town, township, or district in which it is situated. Land shall be assessed in parcels or subdivisions not exceeding six hundred and forty acres each, and tracts of land containing more than six hundred and forty acres, which have been sectionized by the United States government, shall be assessed by sections or fractions of sections. The assessor must, between the first Mondays of March and July in each year, ascertain the names of all taxable inhabitants and all property in his county subject to taxation, except such as is required to be assessed by the State Board of Equalization, and must assess such property to the persons by whom it was owned or claimed or in whose possession or control it was at twelve o'clock M. of the first Monday of March next preceding, but no mistake in the name of the owner or supposed owner of real property shall render the assessment thereof invalid. In assessing solvent credits not secured by mortgage or trust deed, a reduction therefrom shall be made of debts due to bona fide residents of this state. [In effect March 22, 1850.]"
"Section 3629. He must exact from each person a statement under oath setting forth specifically all the real and personal property owned by such person or in his possession or under his control at 12 o'clock M. on the first Monday in March,"
"Section 3664. The president, secretary, or managing agent, or such other officer as the State Board of Equalization may designate, of any corporation, and each person, or association of persons owning or operating any railroad in more than one county in this state shall, on or before the first Monday in April of each year, furnish the said board a statement, signed and sworn to by one of such officers or by the person or one of the persons forming such association, showing in detail for the year ending on the first Monday in March in each year:"
"1. The whole number of miles of railway in the state, and, when the line is partly out of the state, the whole number of miles without the state, and the whole number within the state, owned or operated by such corporation, person, or association;"
"2. The value of the roadway, roadbed, and rails of the whole railway, and the value of the same within the state;"
"3. The width of the right of way;"
"4. The number of each kind of all rolling stock used by such corporation, person, or association in operating the entire railway, including the part without the state;"
"5. Number, kind, and value of rolling stock owned and operated in the state;"
"6. Number, kind, and value of rolling stock used in the state, but owned by the party making the returns;"
"7. Number, kind, and value of rolling stock owned, but used out of the state, either upon divisions of road operated by the party making the returns, or by and upon other railways."
"Also showing in detail, for the year preceding the first of January:"
"1. The gross earnings of the entire road;"
"2. The gross earnings of the road in the state, and where the railway is let to other operators, how much was derived by the lessor as rental;"
"3. The coat of operating the entire [road], exclusive of sinking fund, expenses of Land Department, and money paid to the United States;"
"4. Net income for such year, and amount of dividend declared;"
"6. Capital stock paid in;"
"8. Number of shares authorized;"
"9. Number of shares of stock issued;"
"10. Any other facts the State Board of Equalization may require;"
"11. A description of the road, giving the points of entrance into and the point of exit from each county, with a statement of the number of miles in each county. When a description of the road shall once have been given, no other annual description thereafter is necessary unless the road shall have been changed. Whenever the road, or any portion of the road, is advertised to be sold, or is sold for taxes, either state or county, no other description is necessary than that given by, and the same is conclusive upon, the corporation, power, or association giving the description. No assessment is invalid on account of a misdescription of the railway or the right of way for the same. If such statement is not furnished, as above provided, the assessment made by the State Board of Equalization upon the property of the corporation, person, or association failing to furnish the statement is conclusive and final. [In effect March 9, 1883.]"
"Section 3665. The State Board of Equalization must meet at the state capitol on the first Monday in August and continue in open session from day to day, Sundays excepted, until the third Monday in August. At such meeting, the Board must assess the franchise, roadway, roadbed, rails, and rolling stock of all railroads operated in more than one county. Assessment must be made to the corporation, person, or association of persons owning the same, and must be made upon the entire railway within the state, and must include the right of way, bridges, culverts, wharves, and moles upon which the track is laid, and all steamers which are engaged in transporting passenger and freight cars across waters which divide the road. The depots, stations, shops, and buildings erected upon the space covered by the right of way are assessed by the assessor of the county wherein they are situate. Within ten days after the third Monday of August, the Board must apportion the total assessment of the franchise, roadway, roadbed, rails, and rolling stock of each railway to the counties, or cities and counties, in which such railway is located in proportion to the number of miles of railway laid in such counties, and cities and counties. The Board must also, within said time, transmit by mail to the county auditor of each county or city and county to which such apportionment shall have been made a statement showing the length of the main track of such railway within the county or city and county, with a description of the whole of the said track within the county, or city and county, including the right of way, by metes and bounds or other description sufficient for identification, the assessed value per mile of the same, as fixed by a pro rata distribution per mile of the assessed value of the whole franchise, roadway, roadbed, rails, and rolling stock of such railway within the state, and the amount apportioned to the county or city and county. The auditor must enter the statement on the assessment roll or book of the county, city and county, and where the county is divided into assessoral townships or districts, then on the roll or book of any township or district he may select, and enter the amount of the assessment apportioned to the county or city and county in the column of the assessment book or roll as aforesaid which shows the total value of all property for taxation, either of the county, city and county, or such township or district. On the first Monday in October, the Board of Supervisors must make and cause to be entered in the proper record book an order stating and declaring the length of main track of the railway assessed by the State Board of Equalization within the county; the assessed value per mile of such railway, the number of miles of track, and the assessed value of such railway lying in each city, town, township, school and road districts or lesser taxing district in the county or city and county through which such railway runs, as fixed by the State Board of Equalization, which shall constitute the assessed value of said property for taxable purposes in such city, town, township, school, road, or other district, and the clerk of the Board of Supervisors must transmit a copy of each order or equalization to the city council or trustees, or other legislative body of incorporated cities or towns, the trustees of each school district, and the authorized authorities of other taxation districts through which such railway runs. All such railway property shall be taxable upon said assessment at the same rates, by the same officers, and for the same purposes as the property of individuals within such city, town, township, school, road, and lesser taxation districts respectively. If the owner of a railway assessed by the State Board of Equalization is dissatisfied with the assessment made by the Board, such owner may at the meeting of the Board, under the provisions of section thirty-six hundred and ninety-two of the Political Code, between the third Monday in August and the third Monday in September, apply to the Board to have the same corrected in any particular, and the Board may correct and increase or lower the assessment made by it, so as to equalize the same with the assessment of other property in the state. If the Board shall increase or lower any assessment previously made by it, it must make a statement to the county auditor of the county affected by the change in the assessment of the change made, and the auditor must note such change upon the assessment book or roll of the county, as directed by the Board. [In effect March 9, 1883.]"
"Section 3669. Each corporation, person, or association assessed by the State Board of Equalization must pay to the state treasurer, upon the order of the controller, as other moneys are required to be paid into the Treasury, the state and county, and city and county, taxes each year levied upon the property so assessed to it or him by said Board. Any corporation, person, or association dissatisfied with the assessment made by the Board, upon the payment of the taxes due upon the assessment complained of, and the five percent added, if to be added on or before the first Monday in February, and the filing of notice with the controller of an intention to begin an action, may, not later than the first Monday in February, bring an action against the state treasurer for the recovery of the amount of taxes and percentage so paid to the treasurer, or any part thereof, and in the complaint may allege any fact tending to show the illegality of the tax or of the assessment upon which the taxes are levied in whole or in part. A copy of the complaint and of the summons must be served upon the treasurer within ten days after the complaint has been filed, and the treasurer has thirty days within which to demur or answer. At the time the treasurer demurs or answers, he may demand that the action be tried in the Superior Court of the County of Sacramento. The Attorney General must defend the action. The provisions of the code of civil procedure relating to pleadings, proofs, trials and appeals are applicable to the proceedings herein provided for. If the final judgment be against the treasurer, upon presentation of a certified copy of such judgment to the controller, he shall draw his warrant upon the state treasurer, who must pay to the plaintiff the amount of the taxes so declared to have been illegally collected, and the cost of such action, audited by the Board of Examiners, must be paid out of any money in the general fund of the treasury, which is hereby appropriated, and the controller may demand and receive from the county or city and county interested the proportion of such costs, or may deduct such proportion from any money then or to become due said county or city and county. Such action must be begun on or before the first Monday in February of the year succeeding the year in which the taxes were levied, and a failure to begin such action is deemed a waiver of the rights of action. [In effect March 9, 1883.]"
"Section 3670. After the first Monday of February of each year, the controller must begin an action in the proper court, in the name of the people of the California, to collect the delinquent taxes upon the property assessed by the State Board of Equalization; such suit must be for the taxes due the state, and all the counties, and cities and counties, upon property assessed by the Board of Equalization, and appearing delinquent upon the 'Duplicate Report of Apportionment of Railway Assessments.' The demands for state and county and city and county taxes may be united in one action. In such action, a complaint in the following form is sufficient:"
"The People of the State of California"
" Plaintiff avers that on the ___ day of ______ in the year (naming the year), the State Board of Equalization assessed the franchise, roadway, roadbed, rails, and rolling stock of the defendant at the sum of (naming it) dollars. That the Board apportioned the said assessment as follows: To the County of (naming it) the sum of (naming it) dollars (and so on, naming each county)."
" That the defendant is indebted to plaintiff for state and county taxes for the year eighteen ___ in the following sums: for state taxes, in the sum of (naming it) dollars, for county taxes of the County of (naming it), in the sum of (naming it) dollars, etc., with five percent added for nonpayment of taxes. Plaintiff demands payment for said several sums, and prays that an attachment may issue in form as presented in section five hundred and forty of the Code of Civil Procedure."
"(Signed by the controller or his attorney)"
"On the filing of such complaint, the clerk must issue the writ of attachment prayed for, and such proceedings shall be had as under writs of attachment issued in civil actions; no bond nor affidavit previous to the issuing of the attachment is required. If on such action the plaintiff recover judgment, there shall be included in the judgment as counsel fees, and in case of judgment of taxes after suit brought but before judgment, the defendant must pay as counsel fees such sums as the court may determine to be reasonable and just. Payment of the taxes on the amount of the judgment in the case must be made to the state treasurer. In such actions, the duplicate record of assessments of railways and the duplicate record of apportionment of railway assessments, or a copy of them, certified by the controller, showing unpaid taxes against any corporation, person, or association for property assessed by the State Board of Equalization, is prima facie evidence of the assessment, the property assessed, the delinquency, the amount of the taxes due and unpaid to the state, and counties, or cities and counties, therein named, and that the corporation, person, or association is indebted to the people of the California, in the amount of taxes, state and county, and city and county, therein appearing unpaid, and that all the forms of law in relation to the assessment and levy of such taxes have been complied with. [In effect March 9, 1883.]"
"Section 3671. The assessment made by the county assessor, and that of the State Board of Equalization, as apportioned by the Board of Supervisors to each city, town, township, school, road, or other district in their respective counties, shall be the only basis for taxation for the county or any subdivision thereof except in incorporated cities and towns, and may also be taken as such basis in incorporated cities and towns when the proper authorities may so elect. All taxes upon townships, road, school, or other local districts shall be collected in the same manner as county taxes. [In effect March 9, 1883.]"
"Section 3672. The board of supervisors of each county must meet on the first Monday of July in each year to examine the assessment book and equalize the assessment of property in the county. It must continue in session for that purpose from time to time until the business of equalization is disposed of, but not later than the fourth Monday in July. [In effect January 1, 1873.]"
"Section 3673. The Board has power, after giving notice in such manner as it may by rule prescribe, to increase or lower the entire assessment roll, or any assessment contained therein, so as to equalize the assessment of the property contained in said roll and make the assessment conform to the true value of such property in money. [In effect March 22, 1880.]"
"Section 3674. No reduction must be made in the valuation of property unless the party affected thereby, or his agent, makes and files with the board a written application therefor, verified by his oath, showing the facts upon which it is claimed such reduction should be made. [In effect January 1, 1873.]"
"Section 3676. Upon the hearing of the application, the Board may subpoena such witnesses, hear and take such evidence in relation to the subject pending as in its discretion it may deem proper. [In effect January 1, 1873.]"
"Section 3692. The powers and duties of the State Board of Equalization are as follows:"
"1. To prescribe rules for its own government, and for the transaction of its business."
"2. To prescribe rules and regulations, not in conflict with the constitution and laws of the state, to govern supervisors when equalizing, and assessors when assessing."
"3. To make out, prepare, and enforce the use of forms in relation to the assessment of property."
"4. To hold regular meetings at the state capitol on the second Monday in each month and such special meetings as the chairman may direct."
"5. To annually assess the franchise, roadway, roadbed, rails, and rolling stock of all railroads operated in more than one county in this state at their actual value, on the first Monday in March at 12 o'clock M., and to apportion such assessment to the counties, and cities and counties in which such railroads are located in proportion to the number of miles of railway laid in such counties and cities and counties in the manner provided for in section 3664 of said code."
"6. To equalize the assessment of each mortgage, deed of trust, contract, or other obligation by which a debt is secured and which affects property situate in two or more counties, and to apportion the assessment thereof to each of said counties."
"7. To transmit to the assessor of each county or city and county its apportionment of the assessments made by said board upon the franchises, roadways, roadbeds, rails, and rolling stock of railroads, and also its apportionment of the assessments made by such Board upon mortgagee, deeds of trust, contracts, and other obligations by which debts are secured, in the manner provided for in § 3664 of said code. "
"8. To meet at the state capitol on the third Monday in August, and remain in session from day to day (Sundays excepted) until the third Monday in September."
"9. At such meeting, to equalize the valuation of the taxable property of the several counties in this state for the purpose of taxation, and to that end, under such rules of notice to the clerk of the board of supervisors of the county affected thereby as it may prescribe, to increase or lower the entire assessment roll or any assessment contained therein so as to equalize the assessment of the property contained in said roll and make the assessment conform to the true value in money of the property assessed and to fix the rate of state taxation, and to do the things provided in § 3693 of said code."
"10. To visit as a board, or by the individual members thereof, whenever deemed necessary, the several counties of the state for the purpose of inspecting the property and learning the value thereof."
"11. To call before it or any member thereof on such visit any officer of the county, and to require them to produce any public records in their custody."
"12. To issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses or the production of books before the board, or any member thereof, which subpoenas must be signed by a member of the board, and may be served by any person."
"14. To appoint a clerk, prescribe and enforce his duties. The clerk shall hold his office during the pleasure of the board."
"16. To report to the governor, annually, a statement showing:"
"First. The acreage of each county in the state that is assessed."
"Second. The amount assessed per acre."
"Third. The aggregate value of all town and city lots."
"Fourth. The aggregate value of all real estate in the state."
"Fifth. The kinds of personal property in each county, and the value of each kind."
"Sixth. The aggregate value of all personal property in the state."
"Seventh. Any information relative to the assessment of property and the collection of revenue."
"Eighth. Such further suggestions as it shall deem proper."
"16. To keep a record of all its proceedings. [In effect April 3, 1880.]"
"Section 3693. When, after a general investigation by the board, the property is found to be assessed above or below its full cash value, the board may, without notice, so determine, and must add to or deduct from the valuation:"
"2. Improvements upon such real estate."
"3. The personal property, except money, such percentum respectively as is sufficient to raise or reduce to its full cash value."
"[In effect April 3, 1880.]"

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 § 3665
 § 3665
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 § 3664
 § 3693