Gifted shares and net wealth: transfer completed on delivery, but post-dispatched shares stayed taxable without proof of agency.

Shares delivered and acknowledged before the valuation date were treated as transferred for net wealth purposes, so their value was excluded from the assessee trust's net wealth even though the company share register had not yet been updated. Completion of transfer between transferor and transferee did not depend on entry in the register. For the other three charitable institutions, the assessee failed to prove that dispatch by post was requested or that the Post Office acted as their agent, and the acknowledgements were received only after the valuation date. On those facts, the payment-by-post principle was inapplicable, so their shares remained includible in net wealth.

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Issues: Whether the value of shares donated by the assessee trust before the relevant valuation date was includible in its net wealth, and whether completion of the transfer depended on entries in the company share register or on receipt through the Post Office.

Analysis: The transfer in favour of Georgina MacRobert Memorial Hospital was completed before the valuation date because the shares were delivered and acknowledged on 26 March 1975, so their value could not be included in the assessee's net wealth. The fact that the company register was not updated by the valuation date did not prevent completion of the transfer as between transferor and transferee. For the remaining three charitable institutions, however, the assessee failed to show that they had requested dispatch of the shares by post or that the Post Office acted as their agent. Their acknowledgements were after the valuation date, and the principle applied in the cited payment-by-post decision was held inapplicable on the facts.

Conclusion: The value of the shares donated to Georgina MacRobert Memorial Hospital was excluded from net wealth, while the value of the shares donated to the other three charitable institutions was includible.

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