The Railroad Tax Fight in Benton County
A Superior Court judge rejects the Northern Pacific Railway’s attempt to slash its tax bill on 160,000 acres of land, upholding the assessor's valuations.
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.
Judge O. R. Holcomb of the Superior Court has filed his decision in the case of the Northern Pacific Railway Company against Benton County. The railroad brought suit to reduce its taxes on 161,534 acres of land in the county for the years 1912 and 1913. The total amount of taxes claimed by the county was approximately $20,000, while the railway company contended that a just and equitable amount would be about $3,500.
The land in question is situated north of the Horn of the Yakima River, including sections west and north of Richland, west of Hanford and White Bluffs, and extending to the Columbia River. The assessor's valuations averaged about $2.50 per acre, while the railroad argued these were 'arbitrary and capricious' and amounted to a 'constructive fraud,' proposing values as low as ten cents per acre.
Judge Holcomb sustained nearly all of the assessor's valuations. He granted only minor reductions for specific tracts, such as land on top of Gabel Mountain or land composed of 'sand blows.' In total, while the railroad sought a reduction of $16,500, the court allowed a reduction of only about $450. The case highlighted a deeper conflict: the railroad argued it was being taxed at 50% of value while paying on a different basis than other property owners in the county. However, the court's decision ensures the railroad will continue to pay taxes on the county's assessed values.
“The railway company contended that the valuations which the assessor had placed on their lands were arbitrary and capricious and in fact so unreasonably high that they amounted to a constructive fraud.”
This 1914 tax battle over Benton County land underscores the historic struggle to ensure massive corporate entities like the Northern Pacific Railroad paid their fair share of public revenue. Today, as Kennewick and the surrounding area grapple with growth and infrastructure funding, the tension between large-scale landowners and the public tax base remains a central theme of local civic life.
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