DEATH DUTIES

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 690, 16 November 1933, Page 6

DEATH DUTIES

Special Correspondent.)

COWDRAY ESTATE AGAIN CONTRIBUTES TO REVENUE W'ORTH FO'UR MILLION

("Post"

London, October 6. The sudden death of Yiscount Cowdray, the millionaire business man, politician, newspaper-owner and philanthropist, at his home in Mount Street yes'terday, at the age of 51, will mean a third heavy contribution to death duties from one family's estate in six years. The first Viscount Cowdray died suddenly on May 1, 1927, two days before the day fixed for conferring the freedom of the city of Aherde.n on him and his wife. The public ceremoney had to be cancelled, and th-a freedom was afterwards presented to Lady Cowdray at Dunecht privately. His estate was valued for purposes of probate at £4,000,000, and death duty of £1,600,000 was paid on this r.um. He was Mr. Weetman Pearson, of the engineering firm of S. Pearson and Son, and was responsible for a number of great engineering works and also for the development of the Mexican oilfields. He was created a Viscount in 1916. In April, 1932, the Dowager Lady Cowdray died in Paris. Her hushand had described her as "a partner be,yond praise or price." Acting on instructions contained in his will, she had turned her property in Scotland into a company, with herself as mianaging director. She left estate valued at £1,407,000, on which death duty of more than £600,000 was paid, makinga total of nearly £2,250,000 paid to the Government by her hushand and herself in five years. 'To this heavy toll will now have to be added the duties to be paid on the estate of the second holder of the title, who died yes'terday. , The first Lord and Lady Cowdray made no charitable bequests in their vrills, as each had given large sums to charities durimg their lifetime. Aberdeen alone received more than £100,000 from them and hospitals in many parts of the country benefited from their gifts.