§ 30, Act 140, 1891.

§ 31, Act 124, 1893; § 31, Act 71, 1897.

$32, Act 140, 1891; $ 33. Act

Act 71, 1897.

ington Statutes,

Certain improvements on the right of way are to be regarded as § 1047, Washpersonal property, the act of 1891 providing, “All railroad improve 1891. ments other than the track and the substructures and superstructures which support the same, whether situated upon the land occupied and claimed as the right of way or other lands, must be separately assessed as personal property.

In Act 124, 1893, and subsequent acts the provision reads: "All rail- §1687, W.S., 1897. road improvements, other than the track, substructures and superstructures which support the same, wherever situated upon the land occupied as the right of way owned or occupied by any railroad company or person, used or occupied as such right of way, must be assessed as personal property."

1891; § 1689, W. S.,

"The movable property belonging to a railroad company shall be 1049. W. S.. 124. 1893 § 3. held to be personal property, and denominated, for the purpose of 1897. taxation, rolling stock," and with regard to the assessment thereof, it is provided that "The rolling stock shall be listed and taxed in the several counties in the proportion that the length of the main track used or § 1050, W, S., operated in such county bears to the whole length of the road used or 1897. operated by such person, company, or corporation, whether owned or leased by him or them in whole or in part."

33. Act 140,

1891; § 34, Act

124, 1893 § 34,

Act 71, 1897.

§ 34, Act 140, 1891; § 35, Act 124,

1897.

1891; § 1690, W.S.,

1891; § 1691, W. S.,

With regard to other real and personal property it is provided that 1051, W. S., 1893:35, Act 71, The tools, machinery, and materials for repairs, and all other per- 1897. sonal property of any railroad company, except 'rolling stock,' shall be listed and assessed as personal property in the county wherever the same may be on the first day of April in each year. All the real estate, including the stations and other buildings and structures thereon, other than that denominated railroad track,' belonging to any railroad, shall be listed as lands or lots, as the case may be, in the county where the same are located."

§ 35, Act 140, 1891; § 36, Act 124, 1893; § 36, Act 71, 1897.

66

6

1891; §1692. W. S.,

And, in conclusion, the following cumulative provision is made: 1052. w. s.. "The officer of each railroad shall return to the assessor of the 1897. proper county a copy of the schedule or list of the real estate, and of the personal property pertaining to the railroad; and such real and personal property shall be assessed by the assessor. Such property shall be treated in all respects, in regard to assessment and equalization, the same as other similar property belonging to railroads under the terms, 'lands,' 'lots' and 'personal property.'

3. Determination of the Tax, Payment of the Tax, etc.

There are no specific provisions concerning the computation of railroad taxes, their payment, collection on default, or remedies. In these points they are subject to the general statutes on taxation.

WEST VIRGINIA.

A. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS.

I. CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITATIONS.

stitution of West

"Taxation shall be equal and uniform throughout the state, and all property, $1. Art. X. Con both real and personal, shall be taxed in proportion to its value, to be ascertained as Virginia. directed by law. No one species of property from which a tax may be collected, shall be taxed higher than any other species of property of equal value; but property used for educational, literary, scientific, religious, or charitable purposes, all cemeteries and public property may, by law, be exempted from taxation. The legislature shall have power to tax, by uniform and equal laws, all privileges and franchises of persons and corporations."

Ch. 29, § 67, Code, 1887, pp. 183 et seq.: same Code, 1899, pp. 204 et seq.

II. GENERAL STATEMENT: SYSTEM AND DEVELOPMENT FROM 1890 TO 1900.

Railroad taxation is based upon the valuation of the general property. All property used in the operation of the railroad is, in its assessment, finally passed upon by the board of public works of the state. Property not used for railroad purposes but Same refer owned by a railroad is assessed as the like property of individuals is assessed. Railout, except in the roads are also required to pay an annual "license" tax. There was no change in cense" tax. the law of railroad taxation in the period 1890-1900.

ences through

case of the "li

There is no specific provision for the taxation of sleeping-car and similar car and transportation companies.

B. THE RAILROAD PROPERTY TAX.

1. Nature and Application.

Railroads are taxed upon the general property valuation. The law applies to "any corporation or company owning or operating a railroad or railway wholly, or in part, within this state, for the transmission of freight, or passengers, or both for compensation." And it is provided that no exemption shall be allowed any railroad, whether heretofore exempt or not.

2. Assessment.

All the property used in the operation of the railroad in the state is assessed primarily by the railroad itself through its return. In these returns elaborate statements of value are required and it is only in the event that the return is not made, or is unsatisfactory to the board of public works, that the board will ascertain the value. Property not used in operation of the railroad but owned by it is assessed as like property of individuals is assessed.

Railroads must make return to the auditor of state on or before April 1st annually, through their president, vice-president, secretary, or principal accounting officer, for the year ending December 31st next preceding. It must be signed and sworn to by one of said officers. The return must contain statement of length of the road in and out of state, and in each county, rolling stock used in state, buildings and all real estate owned or used in connection with the road, personal property held or used in the state, and in each county in the state, capital stock, indebtedness, gross earnings, and gross expenditure for the year.

Failure of return is a misdemeanor, for each month such failure continues. county where the seat of government is.

punishable by a fine of one thousand dollars Prosecution therefor is to take place in the

The auditor of state must lay the return, as soon as practicable, before the board of public works. If the return be satisfactory, the board must approve it and, by order entered on its records, direct the auditor to determine the tax against such railroad. But if the return is not satisfactory or is not made, the board may proceed in whatever manner it thinks best to ascertain the facts. And it has power to examine witnesses, books, and papers, and in so doing may compel the attendance of witnesses, any expenses so incurred to be paid by the governor out of a contingent fund. Any person refusing to be examined or to produce papers, etc., as provided, is guilty of a misdemeanor, may be fined five hundred dollars and may be imprisoned not less than one month and not more than six, and prosecuted at the seat of government. When the information is completed, as far as possible, the board must assess all the property required to be returned, so far as found, in the counties through which the railroad runs.

1 This "license" tax was greatly modified by Act 35, February 18, 1901. (See footnote, p. 450.)

3. Apportionment of Valuation.

Through the returns of the railroad company itself, in which statements of the value located in the various counties in the state must be made, the apportionment is made primarily. In case this is not satisfactory or there is default of return, the board of public works in assessing makes the apportionment. When the return has been declared satisfactory or the board has made the assessment, the auditor of state must immediately certify to the county court of each county through which the railroad runs, the said assessment or valuation. And it is provided that the county court shall apportion the whole of such value between the districts and independent districts of the county through which the road runs, according to the value thereof.

4. Determination of the Tax.

A

A certificate directed to the auditor of state must be made by the clerk of the county court thirty days after the county and district levies are laid by the court, of the apportionment made by the county court and the amount levied upon each one hundred dollars of value of the property in the county, for county purposes, and in each magisterial district through which the railroad runs, for district purposes. like certificate must be made by the secretary of the board of education of every school district and independent school district. The recorder, clerk, or other recording officer of every municipal corporation, through which the railroad runs, must make a certificate giving the amount levied on each one hundred dollars of the property therein for all purposes authorized by law. Failure to make these certificates is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred and not more than five hundred dollars. And in "case of such failure, the auditor may obtain the rate of taxation from land books on file in his office, if found there; if not, in any way he may deem proper."

The auditor is required to determine the tax as soon as the value of the property is fixed by the board or circuit court on appeal, and after he has obtained the information above provided for. It is provided that he shall assess and charge the property of every such railroad, in a book kept for that purpose, as follows: 1st, with the whole tax for state and state school purposes; 2d, with the whole tax in each county where the railroad runs, for county purposes; 3d, with the whole tax in each magisterial district through which the railroad runs, for road and other district purposes, other than free school and building purposes; 4th, with the whole tax in school districts and independent school districts through which the railroad runs, for free school and building purposes; 5th, with the whole tax in municipal corporations through which the railroad runs, for purposes for which levy is made by municipal authority.

The auditor must notify the president, vice-president, secretary, or principal accounting officer of the company of the taxes as soon as possible after he has determined the same. And on or before April 1st, the auditor must certify to the county court of the proper county the district and county taxes, and the amount with which the sheriff is chargeable on account of the levy upon the property of the railroad. He must also certify to the county superintendent of free schools the amount of such levies due to each district and independent school district in his county, for free school purposes.

9563-PT v-04—29

Ch. 32, §§ 86-93, Code, 1899.

5. Payment, and Default of Payment.

It is provided that "It shall be the duty of such corporation or company so assessed and charged, to pay the whole amount of such taxes and levies upon its property, into the treasury of the state, by the twentieth day of January next after the assessments thereof." In case the tax is paid before January 20th, a deduction of two and one-half per cent is to be made, and a ten per cent increase in case the tax is paid thereafter.

In case of failure to pay when due, the auditor must certify to the sheriff of the proper county who must collect and account for such taxes, paying the district and independent school district taxes to the treasurer of the proper district.

And taxes due to a municipal corporation collected by the sheriff must be paid by him to the collecting officer of such municipal corporation, or otherwise, as the council may direct. When the taxes are paid into the state treasury, the auditor must account to the sheriff of each of the counties to which the sum so paid in for any county belongs, for the amount due such county, and may arrange the same with the sheriff in his settlement for the state taxes. And the sheriff must account to the county officer of his county for the amount so received by him, in the same manner as other county levies.

And it is provided that the right of the state, county, district, or municipality to enforce collection of taxes by suit or otherwise, shall not be impaired by this chapter.

6. Remedies.

It is provided that the finding of the board of public works as to the valuation of the railroad property shall be final, unless appealed from in thirty days after it becomes known to the railroad company. The railroad may, within this time, appeal from the finding as to the assessment and valuation made within the county through which its road runs, to the circuit court of such county, such appeal to have precedence over all other cases. And if the court is satisfied that the value is erroneous, it must fix the correct value and certify the same to the county auditor.

No injunction will be allowed to restrain collection of the taxes, except upon the ground of violation of the Constitution of the United States or this state, or that the tax has been fraudulently assessed, or that a mistake has been made by the auditor in the amount of the tax properly chargeable. In this case, no injunction will be awarded unless application first be made to the auditor to correct the same and the auditor refuse, which fact must be stated in the petition for injunction.

C.-THE CORPORATION LICENSE TAX.

Domestic corporations having their principal place of business in the state were required to pay an annual "license" tax of ten dollars; those having their principal place of business elsewhere, fifty dollars. These taxes were payable May 1st, to the auditor, and there was provision for forfeiture of charter in default.1

1Act 35, February 18, 1901 (sections 35-40), greatly modifies the license tax. Corporations incorporated and having their principal place of business in the state (termed resident corporations) pay a tax ranging from ten dollars when the capital stock is not greater than ten thousand dollars, to twenty-five dollars when it is not above one hundred thousand and is over fifty thousand dollars. There are special additional rates up to one million dollars, and from one million on. Corporations incorporated in the state, but not having their principal place of business there (termed nonresidents), also pay a graduated but a much higher annual "license" tax. Foreign corporations on complying with certain conditions are entitled to the rate of "resident" corporations, the tax in no case, however, to be less than one hundred dollars. Otherwise they are taxed at the same rate as "nonresident" corporations.

WISCONSIN.

A.-GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS.

I. CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITATIONS.

Railroad taxation is not specifically limited by any provision of the constitution. Nor is there any constitutional provision prohibiting the imposition of specific taxes,

Constitution of

or taxes on other than a property basis. Article VIII, section 1, provides that "The1, Art. VIII, rule of taxation shall be uniform and taxes shall be levied upon such property as the Wisconsin. legislature shall prescribe." Otherwise the general limitations of the constitution alone control.

II. GENERAL STATEMENT: SYSTEM AND DEVELOPMENT FROM 1890 TO 1900. Railroads are taxed upon their gross earnings, the tax being denominated a license tax, and being paid yearly to the state for a license for the operation of the road during the calendar year. The rate of the tax is graduated according to earnings per mile of line, railroads being arbitrarily divided into classes for this purpose. Payment of this tax exempts all property used in operation of the road in the state from any further tax, state or local, except special assessments for local improvements in cities and villages. But all lands owned or claimed by railroads not adjoining their tracks are subject to all taxes, and are assessed as other land.1

Railroad taxation was affected twice by legislation during the period 1890–1900. Act 182, April 3, 1897, amended the schedule of rates at which the gross earnings are taxed by inserting additional grades in proportion to earnings. Act 308, May 1, 1899, changed the time at which railroads are to make their returns and qualified the law regarding the issuing of the license, providing that it should be issued upon submission of the railroad's statement, "if such statement be approved by the railroad commissioner."

Sleeping-car, drawing-room car, and palace-car companies were, at the beginning of the decade, taxed at a stated per cent on their gross earnings for state purposes, such earnings covering, according to the decision of the supreme court, only the sums derived from business originating and terminating within the state (State vs. Pullman Co., 64 Wis., 99). By Act 112, April 6, 1899, however, this law was abrogated, in that provision was then made for the taxation of such companies upon a property valuation basis. Acts 113 and 114, April 6, 1899, made similar and almost identical provisions for freight-line and equipment companies. Act 114 was slightly modified by Act 277, April 29, 1899, providing that it should apply to persons, companies, etc., whose principal business was leasing cars to shippers, as well as to common carriers, for which the original act provided.

1There is no particular adjudication upon the exemption of land owned by railroads not adjoining their tracks, but used for railroad purposes, such as general offices, storehouses, etc. The conclusion logically to be drawn from the statutes and decisions would seem to be that such land is subject to assessment and taxation under the general revenue laws. The rule of exemption is stated in Duluth S. S. & A. Ry. Co. vs. Douglas County, 103 Wis., 75: "The foregoing leaves no room for doubt respecting the proper construction of our railroad tax exemption statute. While present right of condemnation limits the kind of property to which the exemption may attach, present use for railroad purposes limits the time when the exemption will attach. Any other construction would violate the letter as well as the spirit of the statute and our system of railway legislation, which was evidently intended to require a license tax in lieu of general taxes for property actually devoted to quasi-public use, and to have all other property owned by the railway corporations to bear the ratable share of the public burdens. The mischief that would result from a contrary construction is well illustrated by the case before us, where it is contended for to avoid taxes for a single year of over one thousand two hundred dollars on some thirty-four acres of very valuable land in the large and rapidly growing city of Superior, the boundaries of which land extend over three-fourths of a mile beyond any of the tracks or improvements of the corporation, and which is not touched by any land used by the corporation except the small tract of about three acres located at one corner, which small tract is reached by the respondent's cars only by using the tracks of another corporation. Certainly tili property so circumstanced contributed to the public revenues indirectly by some actual use in railway operations, it should contribute directly under the system of general taxation."