§ 31, Act 332, 1889.

§ 32, ibid.

§ 23, ibid.

the rate of twelve per cent per annum until the same are paid; and any judgment recovered thereon shall bear interest at the rate of twelve per cent per annum until paid; and the payment of interest aforesaid shall not relieve any corporation from any of the penalties or commissions prescribed by law for neglect or refusal to furnish reports to the auditor-general or to pay any claim due to the commonwealth from such corporation; provided, that the auditor general shall first have sent to such corporation a statement of the amount due.”

With regard to liens for taxes, it is provided that "All taxes imposed by this act shall be a lien upon the franchises and property, both real and personal, of corporations, companies, associations, joint-stock associations, and limited partnerships, from the time the said taxes are due and payable: and whenever the franchises or property of a corporation, company, association, joint-stock association, or limited partnership shall be sold at a judicial sale, all taxes due the commonwealth shall first be allowed and paid out of the proceeds of such sale, before any judgment, mortgage, or other claims which shall be entered of record, or become a lien after the passage of this act." The provision concerning dissolution is that "No corporation, company, jointstock association, association, or limited partnership made taxable by this act, shall hereafter be dissolved by the decree of any court of common pleas, nor shall any judicial sale be valid or a distribution of the proceeds thereof be made, until all taxes due the commonwealth have been fully paid into the state treasury, and the certificate of the auditor-general, state treasurer, and attorney-general, to this effect filed in the proper court, with the proceedings for dissolution or sale."

II. STATE TAX ON GROSS RECEIPTS OF TRANSPORTATION AND TRANSMISSION

COMPANIES.

1. Nature and Application.

The tax is a tax for state purposes, of eight mills upon the gross receipts of the corporation, etc., "received from passengers and freight traffic transported wholly within this state; and from telegraph, telephone, or express business done wholly within this state, or from business of electric-light companies, and from the transportation of oil done wholly within the state." The law applies to "every railroad company, pipe-line company, conduit company, steamboat company, canal company, slack-water navigation company, transportation company, street passenger railway company, and every other company, joint-stock association, or limited partnership, now or hereafter incorporated or organized by or under any law of this commonwealth, or now or hereafter organized or incorporated by any other state or by the United States or any foreign government, and doing business in this commonwealth, and owning, operating, or leasing to or from another corporation, company, association, joint-stock association, or limited partnership, any railroad, pipe-line, slackwater navigation, street passenger railway, canal, or other device for the transportation of freight or passengers or oil, and every telephone or telegraph company incorporated under the laws of this or any other state or of the United States and doing business in this commonwealth, and every express company, incorporated or unincorporated, doing business in this commonwealth, and every firm, copartnership, or joint-stock company or association doing express business in this commonwealth, and every electric-light company and every palace-car and sleeping-car company, incorporated or unincorporated, doing business in this commonwealth."

Concerning the payment of the tax in case of leased works, it is provided that "The taxes imposed by this section shall be apportioned between the said corporations, companies, associations, or limited partnerships in accordance with the terms of their respective leases or agreements, but for the payment of the said taxes the commonwealth shall first look to the corporation, company, association, or limited partner

ship operating the works, and upon payment by the said company, corporation, association, or limited partnership of a tax upon the receipts as herein provided, derived from the operation thereof, the corporation, company, joint-stock association, or limited partnership from which the works are leased, shall not be held liable under this section for any tax upon the proportion of said receipts received by it as rental for the use of said works."

2. Assessment.

It is provided that "For the purpose of ascertaining the amount of the tax, it shall be the duty of the treasurer or other proper officer of the said company, firm, copartnership, limited partnership, joint-stock association, or corporation, to transmit to the auditor-general a statement, under oath or affirmation of the amount of gross receipts of the said companies, copartnerships, corporations, joint-stock associations, or limited partnerships derived from all sources and of gross receipts from business done wholly within the state, during the preceding six months ending on the first day of January and July in each year; and if any such company, firm, copartnership, joint-stock association, association, or limited partnership or corporation, shall neglect or refuse for a period of thirty days after such tax becomes due, to make said returns or to pay the same, the amount thereof with an addition of ten per cent thereto, shall be collected for the use of the commonwealth as other taxes are recoverable by law."

Thus the assessment, or determination of the valuation, that is of the gross receipts, is little more than the mechanical process of reporting facts, and to that extent the assessment may be said to be made by the company itself.

The provisions concerning powers of examination of books and papers by the auditor-general and treasurer given above, under the capital stock tax, as therein stated, apply to all taxes under this act.

3. Determination of the Tax.

1889.

The statute provides the rate, eight mills upon the dollar on gross receipts § 23. Act 332, "from business done wholly within this state," and the railroad having ascertained said gross receipts must apply the said rate.

4. Payment of the Tax.

It is provided that tax shall be paid to the state treasurer "semiannually upon Ibid. the last days of January and July in each year.'

5. Default of Payment.

The penalty for default of payment of the tax and failure to return are coinci- Ibid. dent, it being provided, as stated above, under "Assessment." that if any such company shall neglect or refuse for a period of thirty days after such tax becomes due to make said returns or to pay the same, the amount thereof with an addition of ten per cent thereto shall be collected for the use of the commonwealth as other taxes are recoverable by law."

The provisions concerning "interest on accounts," "liens for taxes,” and “dissolutions,” given under the capital stock tax above, apply as therein stated to all taxes under this act.

III. TAXATION OF RAILROAD REAL ESTATE.

As stated in the "General Statement," real estate employed in the business or operation of the railroad company is not subject to taxation. This is the rule by no specific statute, but by the interpretation of the court (148 Pa., 282). But property not necessary for the exercise of their franchises, however, is taxable like similar property in the hands of individuals.

Apr. 21, 1858; p. 4512. Pepper &

But to the above broad statement exception is to be made in the cases of Phila$1, Act 411, delphia and Pittsburg. It is provided in the case of Philadelphia that "The offices, Lewis's Digest. depots, car houses, and other real property of railroad corporations situated in said city, the superstructure of the road and water stations only excepted, are and hereafter shall be subject to taxation by ordinances for city purposes.' And in the case of $3, Act 765, Pittsburg the law reads: "All real estate situated in said city, owned or possessed 4553, Pepper & by any railroad company, shall be and is hereby made subject to taxation for city

Jan. 4. 1859; p.

Lewis's Digest. purposes the same as other real estate in said city."

RHODE ISLAND.

There is no special or peculiar provision for the taxation of railroad companies in particular, or corporations in general, either constitutional or otherwise, in the laws $1, ch. 44. Ti of Rhode Island. It is provided that "All real property in the state and all personal property belonging to the inhabitants thereof, shall be liable to taxation unless otherwise specially provided.”

tle VIII, General Laws.

ibid.

Personal property is defined and shares in corporations exempted to individuals 510, ch. 45, under the following provision: Personal property, for the purposes of taxation, shall be deemed to include all goods, chattels, debts due from solvent persons, money, and effects, wherever they may be; all ships or vessels, at home or abroad; all public stocks and securities, except those issued by the government of the United States; all stocks or shares in any bank or banking association; in any turnpike, bridge, or other corporation within or without this state, except such as are exempt from taxation by laws of this state; provided, that no shareholder shall be liable to taxation for shares held in any corporation within this state which in its corporate capacity is taxed within this state for an amount equal to the value of its property, or in any corporation without this state which is, or the shares in which are, liable to taxation in the state where such corporation is located; and provided, that no person shall be liable to taxation on personal property, except upon the surplus of the ratable personal estate owned by him over and above his actual indebtedness."

Art IX. § 1. Constitution

of

SOUTH CAROLINA.

A.-GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS.

I. CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITATIONS.

The general assembly shall provide by law for a uniform and equal rate of South Carolina. assessment and taxation, and shall prescribe such regulations as shall secure a just valuation for taxation of all property, real, personal, and possessory, except mines and mining claims, the proceeds of which alone shall be taxed; and also excepting such property as may be exempted by law for municipal, educational, literary, scientific, religious, or charitable purposes.”

Art. XII, § 2, ibid.

The property of corporations now existing or hereafter created shall be subject to taxation, except in cases otherwise provided for in this constitution."

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

Railroad taxation is upon the basis of general property valuation. The assessment is by two authorities. A state board assesses property in the state used in the general operations of the road. Property not used in operation is not referred to in the general law of railroad taxation, hence is governed solely by the general revenue laws, and so is assessed by local assessors.

During the period 1890-1900 railroad taxation was twice affected by legislation. Act 49, December 24, 1892, amended sections 186, 187, 188 of Chapter IX of the

General Statutes relative to the assessment and apportionment of railroad property for taxation. Act 282, March 2, 1897 (1897, No. 87), provided that the attorneygeneral may bring suit to test the right of railroad companies to exemption from taxation, that the Board of Railroad Assessors on behalf of the state and supervisors of the counties on behalf of the counties may compromise the tax, etc.

Sleeping-car and similar car and transportation companies were not taxed by any specific law previous to Act 441, February 18, 1898 (1898, No. 60). By that act, however, specific and minute provision was made for their taxation on a property valuation basis.

B. THE RAILROAD TAX.

1. Nature and Application.

66

Statutes, 1882;

Statutes, 1893

Railroads are taxed upon the valuation of their general property. The "road-179, General bed, right of way, station buildings, toll houses, structures, tools, machinery, poles, Revised wires, fixtures, vessels, and real estate owned and necessarily in daily use" of any railroad, turnpike, plank road, bridge, telegraph, canal, or slack-water navigation company organized in the state is treated as personal property for purposes of taxation. The balance of the property is not considered and so is left to the course of the general laws. It will be seen from the above that many other companies are treated, to a large extent, on common ground with railroad companies. But the provisions for assessment and apportionment of railroad property apply to railroads $180.G. S., 182: alone. And, so applying, they cover "every railroad company whose track or roadbed or any part thereof is in this state."

§ 234, R. S., 1893.

2. Assessment.

§ 186, G. S., 1882, as amended by

1885.

The final assessment of the property used in operation of the railroad was, according to the provision of the law as operative at the beginning of the decade, 2.Act 90, Dec. 3, made by the State Board of Equalization. The roads return an elaborate statement and estimate of values and on these it is the function of the above board to pass; hence, in a sense, the railroad itself is primarily the appraiser and assessor.

Act 49, Dec. 24, 1892.

180, G. S., 1882;

$234, R. S., 1893.

Act 49, December 24, 1892, styles the above board no longer the $240, R.S., 1893. State Board of Equalization, but the State Board of Assessors. Every railroad company whose track or roadbed or any part thereof is in the state must make a return to the comptroller-general of the state by its president and secretary, under oath. Such return must be made between January 1st and February 20th. The return requires an itemized statement of the amount and values of the various classes of the property used in operation of the road, a statement of the value of the entire road, and of the part in the state alone, and localization of items of track, roadbed, and tangible property generally.

§ 235, R. S., 1893.

A return must also be made by such roads through the same officers to the county $181.G. S., 1882: auditors of the counties in which the road or a part thereof lies. It must contain a statement of the value of the road and property of the company in said county and in each town, city, and village therein, in or through which the road runs.

$237, R. S., 1893.

It is provided that the return and oath shall be made in the form prescribed by $183, G. S., 1882: the comptroller-general.

The considerable requirements for return of value by the railroad companies are accompanied by rules for the ascertainment of such value. It is provided that the value of the right of way, bed, and track of the whole road shall be fixed and such value apportioned pro rata to each mile of the main track. To the value of the number of miles of main track in each town, city, and incorporated village in which the railroad is located must be added the value of the real estate, fixtures, stationary engines, tools, implements, machinery, and other stationary property provided for

$182, G. S., 1882; § 236, R. S., 1893.

$188, General Statutes, 1882.

242, Revised Statutes, 1893.

$185. G.S., 1882; $239, R. S., 1893.

$186, G.S., 1882.

$240, R. S., 1893.

$186, G. S., 1882.

$240, R. S., 1893.

$187, G.S., 1882.

use in daily operation in such district. To the above must be added the proper pro rata of the rolling stock, determined by dividing the total value of the rolling stock by the total length of the main track and apportioning it according to the length of the main track in each town, city, and village in the state. In conclusion, it is provided that the aggregate value of the said road and property in this state and in each county, city, town, and incorporated village in the state in which the road is located must be stated in the return.

It is provided that "If any railroad company, or its officers, shall fail to make the returns to the comptroller-general, and to each county auditor in each county in which any railroad or part thereof may be located as herein required, on or before the twentieth day of July annually, the State Board of Equalization shall proceed to ascertain the value of said company's road and property, according to the principle prescribed herein, from the best information they can conveniently obtain and add thereto fifty per centum as penalty, and apportion the same to the several counties, towns, cities, and incorporated villages, through or into which said road or any part thereof may be located; and the comptroller-general shall certify the same to the several county auditors, who shall place the same on their duplicates for taxation." Act 49, 1892, amended the above by changing the date at which the return must have been made from the 20th of July to the 20th of February.

Act 49, Dec. 24,

1892.

The comptroller-general to whom one of the returns is to be made may himself, or through a person appointed for that purpose, summon and examine officers and agents of the road touching the property thereof, may put questions in writing to them and may examine the books and papers of the company. And it is provided that all officers, agents, and receivers shall answer under oath questions as to the condition, amount, and value of said company's property and the management or dispo

sition thereof.

The State Board of Equalization is made up of the treasurer of state, secretary of state, comptroller-general, and attorney-general. They must meet at the office of the comptroller-general at the capitol on the second Wednesday of May annually, or as soon thereafter as the comptroller-general notifies the board that the returns of the several railroad companies have been filed in his office.

Act 49, Dec. 24, 1892.

Act 49, 1892, amends the above but slightly. The State Board of Equalization is described herein as the State Board of Assessors. And the words "at the capitol," in the provision that the board shall meet at the comptroller's office at the capitol, are omitted.

The board so meeting "shall equalize the value of the property of railroad companies, whose roads are wholly or partially in this state, as returned to the comptroller-general, under the provisions of this chapter, by increasing the value of the roads and property of such companies as shall have been, in their judgment, returned at too low a valuation, and diminishing the values of such as may have been returned at too high a valuation. They shall keep a record of their proceedings, which shall be signed by all the members present, and deposited with, and kept by the comptroller-general; and a majority of the members present shall be competent to decide all questions which may come before said board."

Act 49, Dec. 24,

1892.

Act 49, 1892, amends the above by substituting for the words "shall equalize the value," the first words in the above quotation, the following: "shall determine and assess the value.”

3. Apportionment of Valuation.

Apportionment is made primarily by the railroad company through its returns, The state board equalizes or changes and adjusts such apportionment. And it is provided that "The comptroller-general shall certify to the auditor of each county in