63-404. OPERATOR’S STATEMENT — ARBITRARY ASSESSMENT. (1) Every person owning, operating or constructing, either as owner or lessee, any public utility, railroad or private railcar fleet which is not exempt from taxation under the provisions of this title, shall prepare or cause to be prepared an annual statement showing all property subject to assessment by the state tax commission, together with such pertinent information as may be required on forms supplied by the state tax commission for such purposes, which statement and forms must be signed by the owner or lessee, or the president, secretary, auditor, superintendent or principal accounting officer or agent of such person, and delivered to the state tax commission on or before such time as the state tax commission may determine, and the state tax commission must file such statement and forms in its office.

(2) The statement must contain such information as the state tax commission determines to be necessary for it to properly assess the operating property. This information shall include, unless otherwise specified, such a general description of the property of such owner or lessee situated or operated in the state of Idaho as would be sufficient to identify the same for all purposes of assessment; the entire length of the system, the length of the system within this state, the length of the line owned and the length of the line operated for the whole system and in this state being separately shown; the total number of miles of each line within the state, the number of miles of main line, branch line, second track, siding and spurs being shown and the number of miles within any county, and within any incorporated city, and within any school or other taxing district into or through which said line extends; the total number of shares of capital stock for the whole system; the amount authorized, the amount issued, the amount outstanding and the dividends paid thereon being separately shown; the market and actual value of the shares of capital stock for the whole system; the funded debt for the whole system; and a detailed statement of all series of bonds, debentures and other securities forming part of the funded debt, at par value, with date of issue, date of maturity, rate of interest and interest paid; the market and actual cash values of such series of funded debt for the whole system; a detailed statement of all capital stock and bonds or other securities of such person, or of other persons, owned by or held in trust, the par value and market and actual value of the same; the entire gross receipts and gross expenses for the entire system each year, ending on the thirty-first day of December; and such other matters and things as may be required in the annual statement supplied by the state tax commission.

(3) In addition to the statement required by this section, every person filing such statement shall, at the same time, furnish to the state tax commission unless otherwise specified, certified copies of the annual reports of the board of directors or other officers to the stockholders, and the annual reports made to the surface transportation board, federal communications commission, federal energy regulatory commission and the securities exchange commission or their successor agencies.

(4) If any person or officer refuses or neglects to furnish the annual statement, list, or copies of the reports required to be furnished under the provisions of this chapter, or refuses or neglects to appear before the state tax commission, or to answer under oath all questions propounded to him in relation to matters necessary to be known by the commission in order to discharge its duties in the assessment of his property or the property of the person represented by him, then the commission shall make an arbitrary assessment of such property, except as otherwise provided in section 63-411, Idaho Code, which shall be as fair and equitable as it may be able to make from the best information it possesses, and any such person shall be estopped to question or impeach any such assessment in any hearing or proceeding thereafter.

History:

[63-404, added 1996, ch. 98, sec. 5, p. 337; am. 1997, ch. 117, sec. 16, p. 316.]