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Show ! Bruckart's Washington Digest Government Ownership of Land Creates Serious Taxing Problem Revenue Formerly Collected From Private Property Now Unavailable to Local Units Because of Extensive Federal Holdings. By WILLIAM BKUCKART WNU Service, National Press Bid?., Washington, D. C. WASHINGTON. Through some six weeks, the house committee on military affairs has been holding hearings on a question that is vital to the entire nation, but yet it has attracted little attention outside of the areas directly concerned. The problem is one of taxes which six southern states are not collecting. That is, taxes which they used to collect from private property but are not available to those states now because the federal government has taken over the property. To be more specific, these taxes once were a fine source of revenue for running the state and county and city governments and the schools their state and county and city governments gov-ernments to get hold of the horrible facts that are now being faced the same facts that have brought scores of officials and others before be-fore the house committee on military mili-tary affairs, seeking relief. The cold facts are that scores of those counties in the six states mentioned have had their taxable property so reduced in quantity by the continued expansion of TV A that they are almost underoing tax starvation. star-vation. The committee record is replete with testimony showing tax rate increases in almost every area served by TVA, and evidence of expectation of further tax increases. It is a simple statement, in most instances. The witnesses governors, gover-nors, county judges, mayors, spokesmen spokes-men for erouris of citizens told al- most identical stories. TVA had taken over so much taxable property prop-erty that there was nothing left to tax for use of those local governments. govern-ments. The governments had to have running expenses. Thus, the tax rates were increased. Members of the committee on military mil-itary affairs are quite well aware of the job that confronts them in trying try-ing to write legislation that will solve the tax problem for the various vari-ous areas. The states want the money paid to them; the counties I want a share paid direct to them, and the cities are squealing, too. ouu uie poncing ana ine Duiiumg of highways and such like in the states of Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ken-tucky, North Carolina, Mississippi and Georgia. But along came the idealism of Sen. George Norris of Nebraska, who wanted the government govern-ment to drive out all private ownership owner-ship of electric power, and along came TVA, the Tennessee Valley authority that has grown like stomach stom-ach ulcers within the economic body of the southland. When it came, it took over millions upon millions of dollars of property that had been taxed by the state and local governments. gov-ernments. So, after some seven or eignt years, the governments of those states and cities and counties want money with which to pay the cost of legitimate government. The original TVA laws provided that this gigantic government-owned octopus should contribute to those state governments certain sums in lieu of taxes, but this was directed only in the case of Tennessee and Alabama. The others were not mentioned. men-tioned. Those states were to receive re-ceive 5 per cent of the gross proceeds pro-ceeds of the sale nf nnwpp hv TVA But there is much more to the problem than just the TVA area. You see, the government ownership gang has fought for and brought about construction of scores of other publicly owned dams and power projects. On the West coast, in the inter-mountain area, in Nebraska, where Senator Norris lives, in the eastern and southern sections exactly ex-actly the same tax problem confronts con-fronts those taxpayers or will come up to haunt them, soon. Whatever the committee does, it is presenting present-ing to the house of representatives a precedent-making legislative pro- As stated, the money was to be paid to the state governments, alone. Nothing was said about the counties or the cities or smaller towns that must have tax revenue upon which to live. Operation of TVA Program Would Set Basic Power Rates But the omission of the counties in Alabama and Tennessee was only one phase of the trouble that was to come. You see, the TVA boys and the dreams of the government-own-ershiD crowd wantpH fn vnr 4V. posal. No one can envision its far-reaching far-reaching possibilities. Legislation Will Provide Compensation for Tax Losses There will be a bill of some kind, undoubtedly, that will provide that TVA pay more money to the regions re-gions where it operates. They ought to have it. But the thing that makes my blood boil is that the people of those areas have been lied to and inupaganaizea so thoroughly that they were not able to understand how a scheming group was Selling them down the river. That is, they did not see it until too late. Right now, they are in the position posi-tion where they cannot run their own affairs. They must come to congress and beg on bended knee for help which they ought to be able to give themselves from their own resources which are their own no longer. They have surrendered again to the federal government which, m the nature of things, is very difficult for them to reach for expression of their needs and an explanation ex-planation of their own wishes. There was included in the committee com-mittee a set of figures which I am functions and the capacity and the scope of TVA. It was to be, in the words of President Roosevelt, a great yardstick by which the country coun-try was to be able to measure the cost of electric power. From the TVA were to come basic rates by which you and I were to know whether private electric companies were charging you and me and the rest of us too much for lighting our homes, etc. So, it was only natural that the TVA and its backers soon were promoting pro-moting something bigger and better in the way of its operations. Like some dread disease, the pressure of TVA on privately owned power companies became too heavy to bear, and they were swallowed up. In one guln. for inst.anr th going to list here. The figures show that 441 of the principal, privately owned power and light companies paid $317,742,200 in taxes in 1939 Th's tax, the record showed' amounted to 15.5 per cent of the total to-tal revenue of those companies. are me amouns. by states, mat these companies paid: Maine $2,189,000; New Hampshire, $2 484 1 300; Vermont, $1,226,500; Massachu- o?L?17'17'400; Rhode Is'and, $1.. W4.200; Connecticut, $5,324,000- New 4Y9r9kD-?61i.N.- j"- ernment-owned TVA took over the vast properties of the Tennessee Electric Power company for $100 -000,000. I understand that TVA got quite a bargain, but the sale of the property to TVA was no bargain for the taxpayers in the areas it served and, moreover, it was a terrible blow to the state and county and city governments in those regions They had been receiving vast sums each year as taxes on these properties. prop-erties. In one scratch of a pen, the TVA almost put the local governments govern-ments on relief, for all of the mil-Hons mil-Hons of taxable property became non-taxable when the federal agen-cy-the TVA-took title to the prop-erty. prop-erty. " e rvu- - - """"J" -""a, ZO,UU,100; PnnO,T,f16'960'200: Indiana' S7.988,-100, S7.988,-100, Illinois, $26,422,000; Michigan $10,624,000; Wisconsin. $8,817 000 Minnesota, $4,904,700; Iowa, $1,892.'-900; $1,892.'-900; Missouri, $5,859,900: North n. The government ownership crowd which is driving hard now for government gov-ernment ownership of a lot of other nWere. " happy 83 a k with a new toy train. But like that same youngster, they did not stop to figure out just where their train was. going. Certainly, the honeyed- words of i,e TVA promoters in the southland did not disclose to the taxpayers of those areas what the maately.aS CSt ulti' Taxable Property Reduced In Areas Served by TVA actual practical experience, for those taxpayers and the officials of 500 ,N h, l: SUth Dak0ta' $i 862 von" n 1-731.6: Kansas. $1,862,700; Delaware, Maryland and District of Columbia. $7,120,500- v"r- SS'mon M: West Virginia' 4 - SL and Sou Carolina, $8,971 000; Georgia, $2,392,800; Flor- Tennl ' 61'.0: KentUCky' 734 800 M H374'400: Alabama W.-734,800, W.-734,800, Mississippi, $1,212,600; Arkansas, Ar-kansas, $1,353,500; Louisiana i 557,300; Oklahoma! USU"' tIx! as, $8,237,300; Montana, $2 009 900 Idaho and Utah. $3,383,500; Wyom . $263,100; Colorado, $2.4193" $678,300; Nevada, $285,200; Washing-ton Washing-ton $3,850,900; Oregon. $3,443,800; California, $21,134,000. California, $21,134,000 ' ' theylo not" P3yments ey do not represent all of the nr. pavinti tho , " lunds for ent taxation methods. LOST TAX DOLLARS . Govemment ownership of land m s southern states is causing a serious tax situation for state county and local taxing bodies' according to this article by Wq! bam Bruckart, Washington cor-, cor-, "ndent. Taxes formerly col ; wowrbyl;a;;d-f"" |