Railroads Escape Taxes While County Officials Accept Passes
The county commissioners reduced railroad valuations again, forcing taxpayers to cover the state revenue shortfall.
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.
The county commissioners yesterday reduced the assessment of the Washington Columbia River railroad from $5,280 to $4,800 a mile. The same thing was done last year, but the republican state board of equalization restored the valuation to the original figures fixed by County Assessor Cadman. As a result, the county had to make good to the state a balance of $511.87 due on the taxes of the railroad company. No doubt the state board will do the same thing this year and the county will again have to hand over to the state the difference. It is a little tough on the taxpayers of the county but as the railroads are quite liberal in the distribution of free passes among county officials, such little matters should perhaps be overlooked.
“It is a little tough on the taxpayers of the county but as the railroads are quite liberal in the distribution of free passes among county officials, such little matters should perhaps be overlooked.”
The corruption of public officials through railroad 'passes' was a defining struggle of the Progressive Era. This story highlights the perennial tension between corporate tax avoidance and the burden placed on local property taxpayers.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.