APPENDIX E

420

Moreover, any sums that were in the hands of the Treasury
in respect of provisional payments on account of Income Tax
could not be recovered by the Company. ;

The French Treasury regards such a Company as a defaulter
from whom it has the right (which it has not yet sought to
exercise) to recover whatever may be or may become due under
the abonnement if any opportunity arises to enforce its claim.

The Law of 31st July, 1929, gave a Company the right to
terminate its abonmnement; but the Administration claims that
this provision applies only to Companies that enter into abonne-
ment after the promulgation of the new Law, Companies that had
entered into abonmnement before that date being bound by the
perpetual nature of their undertaking.

Holders of securities in respect of which the abonnement shall
nave been terminated de jure, or even de facto after 31st December,
1929, have the right within a year after such termination to have
the securities stamped free of charge in respect of the stamp duty
on a share warrant that is not covered by an existing abonnement
if the abonnement had been in existence for twenty years, and at
half-rate if the abonnement had been in existence for less than
twenty years.

I'he rate of the stamp, which was 4 per cent. of the nominal
value of the security, was reduced to 2 per cent. from 1st January,
1930, and to 1 per cent. by the Law of 26th April, 1930.

It appears that the authorities, while denying that this right
attaches to securities that are désabonné de facto but not de jure,
and reserving all its claims and rights will probably treat
désabonné securities as though they had never been abonné.

3. NON-ABONNE SHARES.

In respect of securities that have never been abonné the following
taxes have to be paid:

t. Stamp Duty. At the rate of 1 per cent. payable on the
first negotiation or mention in documents, etc. The
wording of the Law leaves room for doubt as to whether
securities that were issued prior to 1st January, 1930,
may not have to be stamped at the rate of 4 per cent.
Income Tax. Bankers in France paying or collecting
coupons, dividends, etc., have to deduct tax at the rate
of 18 per cent. and pay over to or credit the account of
-he proprietor with only 82 per cent.

INTRODUCTION OF SHARES INTO FRANCE.

In order to obtain the admission and quotation of shares in the
markets “ad terme’ (which deals in quantities of not less than
25 shares, which may, however, be represented by several
warrants of lower denominations than 25 shares) and “au
comptant,” it is necessary to make application to the respective
“Syndicats” (through the French firm or institution entrusted
with the introduction. which firm or institution must undertake

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