99 Neb. 208 | Neb. | 1915
The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company is a corporation operating a railroad throughout this and adjoining states, a line of its road extending through Box Butte county and the city of Alliance, a division city on this line. It made a return of its property to the state board of equalization of assessment, which was duly assessed by that board. The local authorities in Box Butte county assessed certain items of property which had been so assessed by the state board, and from the action of the local board of equalization thereon the railroad company appealed to the district court for that county. Upon trial in that court the action of the board of equalization was affirmed in part and reversed in. part, and the railroad company and the county have both appealed to this court.
The attorneys for the county say in their brief: “The disposition of this case-seems to turn upon the definition of ‘right of way’ used in the statute.” They also quote the following stipulation from the record. “It is stipulated between the parties hereto that all of the property included in the assessment to which the plaintiff is objecting is situated more than 100 feet from the main track of the plaintiff company’s railroad, and that it is south of the main track.” They also quote another stipulation which
In 1869 the legislature provided for the assessment of railroad property by the state board of equalization. Laws 1869, p. 179, sec. 17. By this act, as amended (Gen. St. 1873, ch. 66, sec. 17), the state board was required, to assess “roadbed, superstructure, right of way, rolling stock, side track, telegraph lines, furniture and fixtures, and personal property belonging to such corporation.” This statute was several times construed by this court, and also amended from time to time. As amended in 1881 (Laws 1881, ch. 70, sec. 1) .the statute required the report to the state board of assessment to state: “The number of miles of such railroad and telegraph line in each organized county
Section 6374 provides: “The property of railroads, railroad corporations and car companies shall be annually as
Section 6375 provides: “The state board of equalization and assessment is hereby empowered, and it is made its duty, to assess all property of the railroads and railroad corporations in the state of Nebraska: Provided, however, all machine repair shops, general office buildings, storehouses, and also all real and personal property outside of right of way and depot grounds as of and belonging to any such railroad and telegraph companies, shall be listed for purposes of taxation by the principal officers or agents of such companies with the assessors of any precinct of the county where such real or personal property may be situated, in the manner, provided by law for the listing and valuation of real and personal property.” Section 6376 provides: The state board shall “ascertain all property of any railroad company owning, operating or controlling any railroad or railroad service in this state, which, for the purpose of assessment and taxation, shall be held to include the main track, side track, spur tracks, warehouse tracks, road bed, right of way and depot grounds, and all water and fuel stations, buildings and superstructures thereon, and all machinery, rolling stock, telegraph lines and instruments connected therewith, all material on hand and supplies provided for operating and carrying on the business of such road, in whole or in part, together with the moneys, credits, franchises and all other property of such railroad company used or held for the purpose of operating its road.”
Section 6377 requires the company to “return to the state board of equalization and assessment a sworn statement or schedule of the property of such company.” This statement or schedule it provides shall include: “Third— a complete list giving size, location as to county, township and city and village, material and value of all depots, station houses, machine shops, stock yards, scales or other buildings situated wholly or in part on the right of way,
It will be noticed that section 6375 is the only section specifying property to be assessed by the local authorities, and the language of this section in that regard, as amended in 1909 (Laws 1909, ch. 11T, p. Ml), is the same as in the corresponding section of the act of 1881, except that as published it omits the word “and” in the phrase “all machine and repair shops.” This omission of the word “and” is of little importance, since the history of this legislation shows that such omission was an oversight. The word is in the enrolled and authenticated bill of the act of 1903, filed in the office of the secretary of state, but was, by mistake, omitted from the act as published. This omission evidently led to the same omission in the amendment of 1909. Section 6376 specifies the property of the railroad company which shall be included for the purpose of assessment by the state board, and it includes “the main track, side track, spur tracks, warehouse tracks, road, bed, right of way and depot grounds.” The railroad for the purpose of assessment and taxation is considered as a whole. The reason for treating it as an entity is stated in the opinion of Mr. Commissioner Pound in Chicago, B. & Q. R. Co. v. Richardson County, supra. Its business being the transporting of persons and property, the entity so to be assessed includes all property that is held and used principally in carrying on such business. The difficulty in the case is in determining what property is held and used for such purpose. In State v. State Board of Equalization, 81 Neb. 139, it is said that the state board “acts in a quasi-judicial capacity.” In Chicago, B. & Q. R. Co. v. Merrick County, 36 Neb. 176, the trial court found specially that the property involved was not returned by the railroad company to the state board for assessment, and that it was not assessed by the state board. The court said in the opinion that the principal complaint of the plaintiff was that the evidence did not support that finding, and “that the presumption is that the state board
It is not tbe policy of tbe law to create dissensions or difference of views of jurisdiction or to cause double or conflicting assessments. Some articles of property are plainly assessable by tbe state board; others are as plainly subject to local assessment. There are articles of property in regard to which it is not so easy to determine whether they should be assessed locally or are within tbe jurisdiction of tbe state board as part of tbe railroad entity. If these doubtful cases are determined by local assessors, there will be a variety of conclusions and no uniformity and no equality between different localities. Tbe state board, with tbe assistance of its experts, is better qualified to determine what articles of property are essentially a part of tbe railroad, and there is no doubt that some consideration should be given to its action in tbe matter. If it declines to assess an article of property as not being a part of.tbe railroad, the local assessor may well assume that it falls within bis jurisdiction. If it assesses property as a part of tbe railroad entity, local assessors may well assume, in doubtful cases, that such property bas been properly assessed.
It seldom happens that a common expression bas received such diverse construction and application, depending upon tbe particular circumstances of its use, as bas the expression “right of way.” Even when tbe right of way of a railroad company is defined, we find a great variety of
In view of the general purpose of our statute that the state board shall assess the railroad as an entity, including all of its property used in operating its road or carrying on the business of such road, and considering the language used in other sections of the statute, it seems clear that the words “right of way and depot grounds,” as they are used in section 6375, could not have been intended to exclude from the jurisdiction of the state board all property situated more than 100 feet from the center of the main track of the road. The brief of appellant rests entirely upon this proposition. It offers us no assistance upon any other theory of the case. As this theory fails, and we have not observed any plain error which requires a reversal upon any other 1 heory, we must hold that the appeal of the county is without merit.
The railroad company suggests a question as to the con- . struction of that part of section 6375 which specifies property to be assessed locally: “All machine and repair shops, general office buildings, storehouses, and also all real and personal property, outside of right of way and depot grounds.” This provision was construed in Adams County v. Kansas City & O. R. Co., 71 Neb. 549, in which it was said: “The plaintiff contends that each of the
The district court decided that 12,938 steel rails, valued at |97,020, and 11 miles of fence on leased land should be assessed locally. These rails and fence, it is contended, should have been assessed by the state board. In Chicago, B. & Q. R. Co. v. Merrick County, supra¡ it was decided that “material for the construction of a railroad which was piled up near Central City and had so remained for a long time * * * was taxable” by the local assessor. It is not clear that these rails were on hand for the repair, of the road in this state, and we cannot say that the assessing authorities and the district court have erred in this regard. The fence, being on leased lands, and not having been assessed by the state board, was properly assessed locally.
We have not found any error in the judgment of the district court requiring reversal, and it is therefore
Affirmed.