Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 February 1919 — GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP MEANS TAX BURDENS [ARTICLE]

GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP MEANS TAX BURDENS

If the Federal government were to become the owner of the railroad, telephone and telegraph systems in the country, and such property thereby becomes tax exempt, Indiana would lose nearly $8,000,000 annually in revenue, it has been estimated from records of the state board of tax commissioners. The systems pay approximately 13 per cent of the taxes in Indiana and it is pointed out that if this were withdrawn by Federal ownership of the systems* Hoosier taxpayers would be forced to pay just that much more taxes. One example of what the situation would be like is found ip the case under investigation by the tax board in which the goverm,ment holds as tax exempt certain “materials and supplies used in the operation of railroads but not yet allocated to the roads. °lt is not how much of such property is in Indiana.