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[quote user="V.Payne"] On Property Taxes: Property Taxes for NS are $113.4 Million per the STB R-1, Schedule 410, Line 614 “Property Taxes”. If they are not the STB might be a bit upset. Also per Schedule 450, Line 1, “Other than US Government Taxes”, they paid $202.9 million, which would include sales and the property tax above. From the same Schedule, Line 4, they paid $503.1 million in income taxes. Of course they also fully funded their workers retirement instead of Social Security’s situation but let’s set that aside. [/quote] Norfolk Southern, as per its Annual Report, as well as the STB R-1, accrued property taxes of $113.4 million in FY11. An accrual means that an estimate of property taxes payable was debited to an income expense account. The corresponding credit would have been to Deferred Property Taxes, which is different than a credit to Taxes Payable. An accrued amount does not mean that the taxes were paid or will be paid. The accrual is management's best estimate of the property tax liability. It recognizes that property taxes, in fact all taxes, are subject to on-going litigation.  In 2011 Norfolk Southern had revenues of $11.2 billion. Income from railway operations was $3.2 billion, and net income was $1.9 billion. The property tax accrual for 2011 was 1.01 per cent of revenues, 3.54 per cent of operating income, and 6 per cent of net income.  The deferred property tax liability account (a credit balance) increased from $7.5 billion in 2010 to $7.9 billion in 2011. This is an increase of $441,1 million, which is where most of the 2011 property tax accrual, absent the ability to examine the company's tax books, probably was credited.  Schedule 450 is a tax reconciliation. It does not necessarily mean that the taxes shown were paid in FY11.  Likewise, there is nothing in Line 1 of Schedule 450 to indicate that the taxes other than U.S. Government Taxes were property taxes.  Lastly a comparison of taxes payable at the end of FY11 vs FY10 is $41,111.  That is the amount of cash that the company actually handed over to the taxing authorities in FY11. What do property taxes have to do with Amtrak or passenger rail?  Nothing!  As stated the host railroads are prohibited from passing any tax burdens through to Amtrak.  There billings are audited by Amtrak's internal auditors as well as the external auditors.
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