To the Editor of the Norrm-Cama Datty News.
Sm,—Regarding the proposals that have been made for voluntary ion by Shanghai Rubber Companies, the well known share brokers who advocated this appear to have overlooked the facts, first that several companies have subscribed to different war funds and secondly that last year is the first year that most Shanghai companies have paid any dividends, and that after periods of five, six or more years as planting propositions during which tim: shareholders have had nothing but depreciation on their shares, and also in many cases seen much of their capital lost.
Mr. McKenna, the Chancellor of the Pxchequer, has plainly shown by his speeches that he realizes the fairness of special terms to Rubber companies, having regard to their long period in maturing.
In Shanghai other companies have paid large dividends for years—take the Ewo Cotton Mills for example—why not suggest voluntary taxation here?
Even a man investing in debentures in, ssy, 1910 would have drawn his steady 5} or 6 per cent, against five years' of nil for most 323 companies. One year of 2 per cent. does not make up for this.
The war has not caused rubber trees to give more latex—but has put up the cost of freight, insurance and management and labour. Sound companies now getting well into the producing stage would have paid good dividends anyhow. Many financial papers expected a rise in the price of rubber in 1915, thix was kept down by the war—see reports of companies published early in 1915.
If voluntary taxation is so desirable let us all pay income tax in China and all help to support the British Navy which has kept the trade routes open and also let us remember the mercantile marine— without which—a great and well-known admiral says—"the navy could not have kept the seas." Tam, ete., Shanghai, Jan. 97.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.