TIMARU MILLING COMPANY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2482, 28 March 1893, Page 4

TIMARU MILLING COMPANY.

The ninth annual meeting of shareholders of the Timaru Milling Company was held on Saturday. Mr W. Balfour (chairman of directors) occupied the chair, and there was a fair attendance of shareholders.

The report was as follows :—" In presenting the balance-sheet for the year ended February 28th, 1893, your directors are pleased to report that notwithstanding the great fall in the value of wheat and flour, which has continuously taken place thoughout the season, the results are again satisfactory, as the net profit on the year's operations is equal to about 11| per cent, on the paid up capital of the company. The balance at credit of profit and loss account, including £2139 0s 3d carried forward from last year, amounts to £3409 lis 3d ; out of which the directors propose to pay a dividend of 10 per cent., absorbing £ll2O 2s Od, leaving £2228 9s 3d, to carry forward to next year. The retiring directors are :—Messrs W. Balfour, J. Meikle, and I. L. Morris, who are eligible for reelection. You will also require to elect a fourth director to complete the board. It will be necessary to elect an auditor for the ensuing year, and to fix the remuneration of directors and auditor. The dividend if sanctioned by the shareholders will be payable on and after the Bth April next."

The auditor, Mr Granger, wrote complimenting the manager on the way the books were kept, and the shareholders on the satisfactory state of affairs shown by his investigations. In moving the adoption of the report the chairman said there was one matter he should like to draw attention to, and that was the effect of the change in the incidence of taxation which had taken place since their last annual meeting, as far as it concerned the company. The Income Tax which they had just paid was computed on the net earnings of the company for the year ending February 29th, 1892, and which amounted £2017. On this amount they paid Is in the £, or £100.175. The previous year ending 28th February 1891, they paid Property Tax £52 12s, while their net earnings amounted to £4654, so they would see that the change was a very serious one for them, for had they made a similar profit in the year just assessed they would have been liable to pay £232 14a, against £52 Property Tax. Further, the Commissioner of Taxes took their net profits for the year ending 29th February 1892, as shown by the printed balancesheet, as the basis for the assessment and they paid the tax accordingly, but to their surprise five weeks after this tax had become due and paid they received a demand for a further amount of £4l 4s, being Is in the £ on a sum of £824, paid to Mendelson's trustees during the year mentioned, and they were not only called upon to paj *his amount but also a penalty of ]0 per cent., because the Commissioner said he omitted + '° claim & sooner. Mendelson's trustees already paid their tax on this mortgage, a? v< * nowr * ne Commissioner claimed a tax oil the interest also. They, might just as we', be called upon to pay a tax on the amount they paid their bankers for their overdraft, or on what they paid their depositors for interest. The matter would have to be seen to.

The report and balance-sheet were adopted. Messrs Balfour, Meikle, and Morris were re-elected directors, and Mr Andrew Allan was elected auditor. The directors' remuneration was fixed at £l5O, and the auditors at £2O.

The meeting terminated with a vote of thanks to the chairman and the staff.