| Show OLD TAILINGS DUMPS NOT TAXABLE A special dispatch to the salt lake tribune from washington ton on the says tailings from an exhausted mine cannot be taxed by the state of utah or its counties the same as mines are taxed though the tailings are being worked by a new process to recover metal not ex traced when the ore was first mined this in substance is the decision of the U S supreme court today in the case of the south utah mines and smelters shelters Sm elters vs beaver county the opinion having been rendered by justice sutherland in a way the decision is narrow in scope affecting only the questions raised in this particular litigation and does not undertake to determine the extent to which the state may tax tailings or dumps of operating mines or mines that might be closed though susceptible of further development the becis decision ion evidently invites further litigation which eventually must clearly define the taxable status of tailings of going mines but it clearly establishes the principle that tailings of a mine that has become exhausted cannot under state laws be taxed on the same valuation or at the same rate as mines in operation the immediate effect of the decision will be to bring a material tax refund to the south utah mines and smelters shelters Sm elters and probably refunds of taxes in cases where a similar state of facts is shown to exist following this resume the text of the decision which is quite lengthy was given in the dispatch the courts ruling establishes a principle in the assessment of net proceeds of mining companies in that hereafter the proceeds from the working reworking re of any mining dump cannot be included in the amount from which the taxation assessment is estimated roscoe hammond secretary of the state board of equalization said yesterday consequently ly he continued the decision is of interest to every mining man in the state the states case or rather that of beaver county was presented and argued before the supreme court by W A hilton assistant attorney general of utah the case for the mining compa company ny was presented by C C parsons ns jr and fisher harris |
