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Show COMMENTS A SPLINTERED "YARDSTICK" The Tennessee Valley Authority recently issued a report through the press, according to which TVA paid six s'.ates and 126 counties "in lieu of taxes" a total of $2,168,824 for 1944, the fiscal year ending in 1944. The statement indicated that this amount greatly exceeded exceed-ed former taxes paid by privately-owned utilities. The report did not say it was comparing TVA's last year's payment "in lieu of taxes" with the taxes paid by private ownership nine years ago. Nor did it mention the fact that if TVA had not monopolized electric power development in its territory, the private companies would have continued to expand and pay increasing taxes. But the principal fact which it failed to mention was that, compared with some 7 per cent of its gross income which TVA pays in taxes, privately-owned power utilities in 1943 pakl approximately 24.5 per cent of their gross revenue in all forms of taxes, according to the Federal Powr Commission. So figure for yourself how many millions in taxes TVA fails to pay which private companies are forced to pay. In other words, TVA and all similiar government-owned plants, are not bound by the tax laws which apply to every private industry in-dustry and private citizen in the land. No matter how. they try to dress the picture, as government govern-ment acquires more and more property and eliminates private business, with tax-exempt competition, the tax drain on private pri-vate citizens will get heavier, until the laws are changed so that government business ventures are taxed like private business with which they compete. A REAL TAX; LOAD Salt Lake City faces the possibility of a 32 increase in property tax load if the present bills in the legislature are passed alnd put in operation and present city and county budgets bud-gets remain uncut. The per capita operating and maintenance cost of Utah schools, on an average daily attendance basis, totaled $107,-77 $107,-77 for 1943-44. This is an increase of 35 above the 1940-41 1940-41 costs of $79.42. |