CHAPTER IV THE TAXING SYSTEM OF MINNESOTA Constitutional Provisions a. Power of Taxation - The power of taxation shall never be surrendered, suspended, or contracted away. Taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of subjects, and shall be levied and collected for public purposes, but public burying grounds, public school houses, public hospitals, academies, colleges, universities, and all seminaries of learning, all churches, church property, and houses of worship, institutions of purely public charity, and public property used exclusively for any public purpose, shall be exempt from taxation, and there may be exempted from taxation, personal property not exceeding in value $200, for each household, individual or head of a family, as the legislature may determine: Provided, that the legislature may authorize municipal corporations to levy and collect assessments for local improvements upon property benefited thereby without regard to a cash valuation, and provided further, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to affect, modify or repeal any existing law providing for the taxation of the gross earnings of railroads. (Art. 9, Sec. 1.) b. Local Taxation-Any county and township organization shall have such powers of local taxation as may be prescribed by law. (Art. 11, Sec. 5.) c. Submission of Laws for Taxation of Railroads-Any law providing for the repeal or amendment of any law or laws heretofore or hereafter enacted, which provides that any railroad company now existing in this state, or operating its road therein, or which may be hereafter organized, shall in lieu of all other taxes and assessments upon their real estate, roads, rolling stock, and other personal property, at and during the time and periods therein specified, pay into the treasury of this state a certain percentage therein mentioned of the gross earnings of such railroad companies now existing or hereafter organized, shall before the same shall take effect or be in force, be submitted to a vote of the people of the state, and be adopted and ratified by a majority of the electors of the state voting at the election at which the same shall be submitted to them (Art. 4, Sec. 32.). Summary of Tax Laws Based upon the foregoing provisions of the constitution, the taxing system of the state consists of: (1) a classified general property tax on all real and personal property in the state not subject to a lieu tax and not expressly exempted from taxation by section 1, article 9 of the constitution, supra; (2) a gross earnings tax on the property of railroad companies; (3) a gross earnings tax on the property of sleeping car companies; (4) a gross earnings tax on the property of express companies; (5) a gross earnings tax on the property of freight line companies; (6) a gross earnings tax on the property of telephone companies; (7) a gross earnings tax on trust companies; (8) a tax on the property of telegraph companies, the rate of which is fixed by the tax commission, which rate, however, shall not exceed the average rate throughout the state; (9) a three mill tax on money and credits; (10) a mortgage registry tax; (11) a bushel tax on grain handled by elevators and warehouses; (12) a net tonnage tax on vessels plying international waters; (13) an inheritance tax; (14) a premium tax on insurance companies; and (15) a poll tax. 1. General Property Tax All real and personal property in the state which is not subject to a gross earnings or other lieu tax or specifically exempted from taxation, is subject to a general property tax. For the purpose of imposing this tax, personal property is assessed annually and real estate biennially with reference to its value on May 1. Property subject to this tax is divided into four classes and each class assessed at a different percentage of true and full value. The first class: covers iron ore whether the same is mined or still in the ground, and is assessed at 50 per cent of its value. The second class covers household goods and all other property used to equip the family residence and is assessed at 25 per cent of full value. The third class covers livestock, agricultural products, merchandise, manufacturers' materials and products, tools, implements, and machinery, and all unplatted real estate, and is assessed at 334 per cent of full value. The fourth class covers all platted real estate and all personal property not included in the first three classes and is assessed at 40 per cent of full value. The assessor, in valuing property, is required to set down in his assessment book, the true and full value of each article of personal property and of each tract : of real estate assessed by him, and is also required to enter in a separate column, the assessed value according to the class in which the property belongs. The classification of property for taxation purposes above outlined, has been upheld by the supreme court in State ex rel St. Paul City Railway Company vs. Minnesota Tax Commission, 128 Minnesota, 384; State ex rel Minneapolis Gas Light Company vs. Minnesota Tax Commission, 132 Minnesota, 419; State ex rel W. S. Chase vs. Minnesota Tax Commission, 135 Minnesota, 205; State ex rel Goetzman vs. Lord, 136 Minnesota, 260. State taxes are levied by the legislature in specific amounts and the rate necessary to produce the amount is certified by the state auditor to each county auditor, on or before Ocober 1. County taxes are levied by the county board and are based upon an itemized statement of expenses for the ensuing year, which statement must be published with the proceedings of the board. City, village, town, and school district taxes are voted in specific amounts and the amounts certified to the county auditors on or before October 10. In addition to the taxes voted as above, there are certain general taxes definitely fixed by law, such as the one mill school tax, the one mill road tax, and the like, which are general property taxes. The county auditor calculates the rate necessary to raise the required amount of the various taxes on the equalized assessed valuation as returned by the state tax commission. The county treasurer is the collector of all general property taxes whether levied by the state, county, city, village, township or school district. Personal property taxes are payable without penalty any time between the first Monday in January and the first day of March. If not paid before March 1st, a penalty of 10 per cent is added. Real estate taxes can be paid without penalty any time between the first Monday in January and the first day of June. Unless one-half of the tax is paid before June 1st, a penalty of 10 per cent is added. If one-half of the tax is paid before June 1st, the balance is not delinquent until November 1st. If the tax is delinquent January 1st, an additional penalty of 5 per cent is added to the entire tax. If real estate taxes are not paid before February 1st, judicial proceedings are instituted, judgment obtained and the real estate upon which taxes are delinquent is sold to pay the taxes, penalties, interest and costs against the same. Taxes levied on real estate are not a personal obligation against the owner, but are a charge upon the real estate only. Personal property taxes are a direct obligation against the owner and not a specific lien against the property assessed. If personal property taxes are not paid before the fifth secular day in April, appropriate judicial proceedings are instituted to collect the same and if uncollected, the amount of taxes due with penalty, interest and costs is eventually placed in judgment, and the judgment becomes at once, a lien on all unexempt property belonging to the delinquent. 2. Railroad Taxes Railroad companies, excepting street railway companies, in lieu of all other taxes and assessments upon their property within the state, owned and operated for railway purposes, pay into the state treasury, 5 per cent of the gross earnings derived from the operation of their lines within the state. The term "the gross earnings derived from the operation of such line of railway within this state," is defined by the law imposing the tax to mean "all earnings on business beginning and ending within the state, and a proportion, based upon the proportion of the mileage within the state to the entire mileage over which such business is done, of earnings on all interstate business passing through, into or out of the state." This tax is a property tax measured by earnings and not a tax on the company itself. (85 Minn. 148 and 114 Minn. 346.) It does not apply to street railway companies. Street railway property is subject to the general property tax. (76 Minn. 96 and 114 Minn. 70.) The tax is due and payable semi-annually on September 1st and March 1st, and all goes to the state except taxes paid by companies which are not "ordinary commercial steam railroads," such as trolley lines. The taxes paid by such companies are apportioned and divided between the state, county and taxing districts "the same as if paid as a tax upon real estate situated in the respective taxing districts in which such railway line is situated." (See chapter 454, General Laws 1909.) All property owned by railroad companies which is not owned and operated for railroad purposes-except lands acquired by public grant-is subject to an ad valorem tax and is assessed and taxed in accordance with the provisions of the general property tax laws of the state. (See general property tax.) 3. Sleeping Car Companies Sleeping car companies, for the purposes of taxation, are defined by law as companies owning, operating, renting and leasing to other companies, sleeping cars, tourist cars, drawing-room cars or parlor cars which are used on railroads in this state and for riding in which an extra fare is charged. Such companies, in lieu of all other taxes and assessments on their property in this state, pay to the state 5 per cent of their gross earnings "derived from the owning, operating, renting, or leasing of such cars." The term "gross earnings derived from the ownership, operation, renting, or leasing of cars by such companies in this state" as used in the statute imposing the tax is declared to mean, "all earnings on business beginning and ending within the state, and a proportion, based upon the proportion of the mileage within the state to the entire mileage over which such business is done, of earnings on all interstate business passing through, into, or out of the state." This tax is payable annually, on March 1st, and all goes to the state. The law imposing this tax is held valid in State vs. Pullman Company, 179 N. W. R., 224. 4. Express Companies Express companies, in lieu of all other taxes and assessments upon their property, pay to the state 8 per cent of their gross earnings on business done in this state, less the amount actually paid by them to railroads for transporting their freight in this state. This tax is payable annually, on March 1st, and all goes to the state. The law imposing this tax construed and held valid in State vs. United States Express Company, 114 Minn., 346. Affirmed, 223 U. S. Supreme Court Reporter 335, State vs. Wells Fargo Company, 179 N. W. R. 221. 5. Freight Line Companies Freight line companies, in lieu of all other taxes on their property in this state, pay to the state 6 per cent of their "total gross earnings received from all sources within this state." * * * * * * The term "total gross earnings received from all sources within this state" is declared by the statute creating the tax "to mean all earnings on business beginning and ending in this |