The Sun.
London, England, 1860-11-26 00:00:00

TILE INCOME-T- 4X IN INDIA.

The intelligence by the last India mail has an
important bearing on the double income-tax ques-
tion, and places the attempted extortion in a light
more unfavourable than cver. The total of the
" enfaced" paper held in England is about
£7,800,000. Of this about £6,000,000 was trans-
ferred to London before March last, when the
Indian income-tax was imposed. The remaining
421,800,000 was:sentsubsequently, and on this por-
tion was the proviso, "subject to Indian income-
tax." On the 31st of August last bills on Calcutta
were issued at the Bank of England for payment
of a half-year's interest then due on some of these
securities, and in those cases where the enfacemext
had taken place before March the English income-
tax was alone deducted. In the other cases 4
per cent. was deducted for English and 4 per cent.
for Indian income tax, making a total of 8 per cent.
Under the circumstances some anxiety was felt to
ascertain whether the Calcutta Government would
pay the bills from which only English income-tax
had been deducted, without making any claim for

Indian income-tax, and from the letters now re-
ceived it appears that the exemption has been re-
cognized, or at least that the bills have been dis-
charged without any claim being set up. Appa-
rently, therefore, it is only the 1,800,000 brought
here SiDC2 march, together with all amounts that
may henceforth be purchased, that will be subject
to the double impost, although no theory can be
brought forward to justify the charge in any shape
that would not apply to one description as much
as to the other. The mere official inscription," sub-
ject to double income-tax," is, of course, worth-
l'ss to establish the claim, supposing the claim
itself to be illegal or founded on false principles.
The holders, however, will have to submit, as it is
one of those matters in which the prudent and most
economical course is to recognise might as right.
For the future English investors will take care how
they touch securities thus subject to caprices the
extent of which they can never calculate. It will
accordingly he found. that although the desirable-
ness of attracting British capital constitutes the
staple of all the oratorical effusions of the Indian
authorities, their practical course has been, while
they are periodically compelled, from deficiencies of
revenue, to come upon us as borrowers of millions,
to damage confidence as much as possible by a clumsy
and unjust endeavour to grasp a half yearly sum of
exactly £l,BOO.
The trial at law which was to test the soundness
of the new doctrine of the Government, that in the
case of Indian dividends a promise to pay is the
same as actual payment, was expected to come on
early this month, but is still postponed. The point
atissue is simply as follows: --The Government give
bills of exchange on India for the amount of the
dividends dne to the English holders of Rupee se-
curities. Until these bills have been duly
honoured in Calcutta, and the proceeds remitted
home, the holders, of course, are without their in-
come. Mr. Gladstone, however, insists that they
receive their income the moment they get a pro-

mise that it shall be paid to them in India at some
future date, and that he is accordingly entitled
then to seize income tax upon it. The holders re-
sist this view as something altogether novel, and
assert that, according to old-fashioned English law
a promise is not the same as performance, and,
moreover, that the only legal tender known,
among us consists of a Bank of England note or
gold.— Times.