Abstract
This independent study into the current methods of assessing railroad companies operating properties for ad valorem property tax purposes by State Assessing Bodies is by no means complete study in this field. However, many hours have been spent by the writer reading and studying from available sources prior to developing and writing on this subject. This survey does, I believe, bring to light the most current methods of assessing a railroad’s operating properties on a state level. It appears that some of the state appraisers are meeting together, comparing their assessment problems, and tending towards more uniformity in their railroad property tax assessing formulas. A survey has also been made of the results of assessing methods with respect to one railroads ad velorem property tax obligation the past several years. I assume the results shown for this company would be common, generally speaking, for the railroad industry as a whole. Some very valuable data has been obtained from many unpublished official records of the Union Pacific Railroad Company. Acknowledgments are due to them for kind permission to use some of their records and from numerous other studies prepared by other railroad companies. As with all other studies, the analysis and conclusions are those of the author, who alone assumes responsibility therefor.