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5.
stranger to Hongkong, or resides here but rarely.
Mr. Lau Chu-pak's remarks in Council are illuminative of the difficulty of collecting death duties upon the large capital invested in Chinese firms, and the concluding paragraph of his speech leads to the inference that evasion in this respect has been so common, that the Chinese on the mainland have not even been aware that such duties have been for many years past imposed by the law of the Colony.
6.
It has been customary for administration of an estate to be applied for by Chinese only when part of such estate, consisting for example of real property or shares in Public Companies, cannot be dealt with except under Letters of Administra- -tion; and in the petition no mention is made of any other proper- -ty; the Administrator being well aware that when once he has his Letters of Administration no further enquiry will be made, in the
course of the realization of the estate, as to what property has been disclosed. Section 18 of the Ordinance has accordingly been
devised to ensure as far as possible that an Administrator shall not realise undisclosed property.
7.
As regards Section 20 the best apology for
this drastic measure is perhaps to be found in Mr. Lau Chu-pak*a
remarks. As he points out, Chinese deposit money in firms in
fictitious names or in the names of their wives, their sons, or
other relations. On the depositar's death the mere production of
the deposit receipt is sufficient to transfer the depositor's
interest, and the question of paying death duties does not even
occur to the parties interested. There appears to be no means of taxing the large sums of money so invested except by requiring the managers of firms to disclose the interests held by deceased
persons.
8.
The report of the Attorney-General deals very fully with the Ordinance in detail. This measure is the outcome
of prolonged and careful consideration by officers having practical
acquaintance
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