The Bank Tax Standoff
A citizen letter details how the Walla Walla City Council's compromise with a local bank cost taxpayers thousands, while the courts later sided with the Assessor's original valuation.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Editor Statesman: The Oregon supreme court has held that Levi Ankeny must pay the tax levied on his bank stock, which was assessed at the actual value instead of the par value. When Walter Cadman was county assessor during 1902, he held that the national banks of Walla Walla were not paying enough; he raised the stock of the First National from $91 per share to $233 per share. This difference amounted to $142,000 in value. The bank refused to pay, filed an injunction, and eventually the city council accepted a compromised, low-ball assessment. After reading the Oregon decision, it is clear that the city council, by compromising with the bank, lost the rest of the city taxpayers the difference between what the tax should have been and the significantly lower amount they accepted.
“The city council by compromising with the bank people lost to the rest of the city taxpayers the difference between what the tax would have been and what they accepted.”
This debate over the assessment of bank stock and corporate tax avoidance echoes modern concerns about property tax equity and whether local governments have the political spine to collect full value from large institutions. It highlights a perennial civic tension: whether local leaders serve the public interest or the influence of major financial donors.
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