SHARE VALUES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 287, 4 December 1941, Page 8

SHARE VALUES

TAXATION APPEAL

PUBLIC TRUSTEE'S ACTION

The value of shares in the Northern Publishing Company, Limited, Whangarei, was argued in the Supreme Court yesterday and to-day before Mr. Justice Fair in an action which took the form of an appeal by the Public Trustee as administrator of the estate of the late Hugh Wentworth Crawford, of Whangarei, journalist (Mr. Trimmer), against an assessment by the Commissioner of Stamp Duties (Mr. Stanton).

At the time of his death on August 5, 1939, Mr. Crawford was the owner of 6017 full paid-up shares in the Northern Publishing Company, Limited, of which the total capital, is £10,000. It publishes Nortqtern Advocate. In returns furnished by appellant under the Death Duties Act, 1921, he claimed that the value of each of the shares was £3 6/4, making a total of £19,956 7/8. For the purpose of assessing the death duty payable on . the estate the Commissioner of Stamp Duties fixed the value of each share at £5 5/, making a total ,of £31,589 5/. To this assessment the appellant objected and asked that the commissioner's valuation be amended.

In opening his address Mr. Trimmer said that the Public Trustee had originally claimed that the value of the shares was £3 6/4. but he desired to amend that to £3 13/2. That would make the difference between the parties about £10.000. He pointed out that there were many factors to be taken into consideration in determining the value of newspaper shares at any given period.

Yesterday afternoon and this morning evidence was given by expert accountants as to the value of the shares. The case is proceeding.