Preferential payments

(1) In a winding-up, there shall be paid in priority to all other debts– (a) all rates and taxes, including land and property tax, and income tax due from the company at the date herein after mentioned, and having become due and payable within twelve months next before that date, and all assessed taxes, land tax, property or income tax assessed on the company up to 5th April next before that date, and not exceeding in the whole one year’s assessment; (b) all wages or salary of any clerk or servant in respect of services rendered to the company during the four months next before the said date, not exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars; (c) all wages of any workman or labourer not exceeding one hundred and twenty-one dollars, whether payable for time or for piece work, in respect of services rendered to the company during two months before the said date, 142 provided that where any labourer in husbandry has entered into a contract for the payment of a portion of his wages in a lump sum at the end of the year of hiring, he shall have priority in respect of the whole of such sum, or a part thereof as the court may decide to be due under the contract, proportionate to the time of service up to the said date. (2) The foregoing debts shall– (a) rank equally among themselves and be paid in full, unless the assets are insufficient to meet them, in which case they shall abate in equal proportions; and (b) so far as the assets of the company available for of creditors are insufficient to meet them, have priority over the claims of holders of debentures under any floating charge created by the company, and be paid accordingly out of any property comprised in or subject to that charge. (3) Subject to the retention of such sums as may be necessary for costs and expenses of the winding-up, the foregoing debts shall be discharged forthwith so far as the assets are sufficient to meet them. (4) In the event of a landlord or other person distraining or having distrained on any goods or effects of the company within three months next before the date of a winding-up order, the debts to which priority is given by this section shall be a first charge on the goods or effects so distrained on, or the proceeds of the sale thereof, provided that in respect of any money paid under any such charge, the landlord or other person shall have the same rights of priority as the person to whom the payment is made. (5) The date hereinbefore in this section referred to is, 143 (a) in the case of a company ordered to be wound- up compulsorily which had not previously commenced to be wound-up voluntarily, the date of the winding-up order; and (b) in any other case, the date of the commencement of the winding-up.