The next item is a new one. Provision for National Defence Contribution takes £75,000 and I would point out that this relates to only nine months of the year. In a full year the appropriation will need to be in the neighbourhood of £100,000 on the basis of our present rate of profits. Stockholders may be surprised that the figure is so high having regard to the fact that our profits Tee running at about £1,000,000 a year and the rate of the contribution is 5 per cent, The reason is that, unlike other trading concerns, the contributions of insurance companies are calculated not only on the underwriting profit but also on the interest on We feel strongly that this i discrimination against insurance companies, but representations to the Treasury have so far failed to secure any repre: t We have no wish to shirk paying our fair share of the cost of national defence, but we do view with apprehension an apparent departure from the traditional principles of equity which have in the main characterized the basis of taxation in this It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the building up of ample reserve funds is essential to the provision of the protection which the companies give to the public and it will indeed be unfortunate if the prudence of the companies in this respect is to be penalized by a form of taxation which is not of general application.
The amount transferred to general reserve fund is £275,000, or £25,000 more than last year, and finally there is a balance of £585,712 out of which the directors recommend that a final dividend for the year 1937 of 4s. per £1 stock unit, jess income-tax, be declared. 'This' will require £519,200, leaving £06,512 to be carried forward against £47,055 last year.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.