Tax Collector's Huge Share of Burns Philp Profits

Burns Philp Profits

IN its last financial year, ended March 31, Burns, Philp & Co., Ltd., had a cash turnover of £24,465,000, and made a profit of £302,734, out of which it paid its usual dividend of 12J per cent.

Even in this year of depreciated currencies, £24i millions is a great deal of money. The company has climbed a long way, practically without a stagger, since it was registered 67 years ago by James Burns and Robert Philp. Its assets now are quite conservatively valued at nearly £lO l millions For many 'long years, its.stores, ship- Pacmc 86 Islands a^rovidedta^he S comnanv with most ofite nroflts • but the combinpd ° war P Socialist and

Si-headed have t ?araelv

S4d the character of tfle comnanrts

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n' T ' e ttril'tnn S 6 chX retlil stores ll within Tustralia Sif t u stores—within Australia lusen. . , In a , ™ shareholders at. the annual j meetmg on May 25, the chairman (Mi . James Burns, son of the founder) gave some indication of the company s problems. rpHE company has just put the Braeside JL into commission a smallish freighter of 5,687 tons. Yet she cost no less than £ABOO,OOO. Australian taxation is so enormous that the company, to provide £BOO,OOO, has to make a profit of £1,750,000.

The company wants more ships to replace those lost in war, and to carry on its business; and the Pacific Territories

are literally howling for more ships. But, as Mr. Burns pointed out, if the company wanted to build another Bulolo it would have to make £2,500,000 to pay the taxes and pay for the ship.

Under present conditions, the Govern ment takes in direct taxes more than 50 P er cent, of the profits earned by the company. And then—such is the beauty that Socialist masterpiece, double taxation —when the remaining profits are divided among shareholders, the Government treats them as new income, d in^P With perhaPs 5 ° P6r C6nt ' :t is not surprising to learn, from the chairman’s speech, that the Board has, for the present > abandoned the idea of buildin g more shi P s and has brought back to s y dne y £500,000 which it had sent to a monthly service to-the Far East with two vessels - tried to do it again, after the war But> by noW) wa terside unions and their allies were on the rampage. The ships are forced to spend no less than 40 to 60 q ays eac h trip j n Australian ports; an q a p idea of a monthly service has been given up.

However, despite these conditions, the an d islands services in which it has been engaged for nearly 70 years, and is keep jng liquid a sufficient proportion of its huge assets to meet a more favourable situation, should it develop. It has a quarter million in cash; over £2 millions invested in subsidiaries; and £IS millions invested in other shares and Government loans.