Rye, New York- June 21, 2017 – LICT Corporation (OTC Pink: LICT) announced today it is continuing for 2017 the Shareholder Charitable Contribution Program for all registered shareholders which it originally adopted in 2016. All registered shareholders will be eligible to designate charities to which the company will make a donation of $100 per share on behalf of the shareholder.
Warren Buffett had a similar program at Berkshire Hathaway from 1981 to 2003. In addition, GAMCO Investors, Inc. continues its similar program.
At LICT, we continue to believe charitable giving is a cornerstone of society and an obligation for those with means to make a difference in the world. As an organization, LICT will have no control over the donations, but we are happy to make them on behalf of our shareholders.
As in the case of both Berkshire and GAMCO, only registered shareholders will be eligible to participate.
If a shareholder’s shares are registered in “street name” (this is, a bank, broker or other institution holding the shares for the shareholder), those shares will not be eligible to participate in this charitable program. Therefore, any shareholder who has shares that are currently held in street name but wishes to participate in this program should contact the institution holding the shares to arrange for their registration in the shareholder’s own name.
Shareholders will have until July 21, 2017 to register shares in their own name to participate in the program. Our current plan is to distribute a charitable contribution form to all shareholders registered on that date. This contribution form must then be returned to LICT no later than August 11, 2017, for the charitable contribution to be made. Only charities that are recognized 501 (c) (3) organizations will be qualified to receive the donation from LICT on the shareholder’s behalf. A list of eligible charities is available at: http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/ExemptOrganizations-Select-Check; or at Guidestar.org.
Please see the attached list of Frequently Asked Questions for further details on the charitable contribution program. If you have additional questions, please use the contact telephone number provided below.
If all shares outstanding are registered in the shareholders’ names at the record date, the total contribution would be approximately $2.1 million.
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This release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. It should be recognized that such information is based upon assumptions, projections and forecasts which may not prove to be correct or may develop differently from the manner originally expected. Such forward-looking information must be read and interpreted in light of the cautionary statements set forth in documents filed by LICT on its website,www.lictcorp.com.
LICT is a holding company with subsidiaries in telecommunications and multimedia, and actively seeks acquisitions, principally in its existing business areas.
LICT is listed on OTC Pink ® under the symbol “LICT”. Its web address is set forth above.
Contact: Robert E. Dolan Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (914) 921-8821 Release: 17-6
LICT CORPORATION
SHAREHOLDER DESIGNATED CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS
PROGRAM FOR 2017
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS
Q. What shareholders are eligible to participate?
A. To be eligible, your shares must be held by you in certificate form or registered in your name in the transfer agent’s books on the program’s record date, July 21, 2017, and the transfer agent holds the security for you in book-entry form. Shares held in street name on the record date are not eligible.
Q. What does it mean when shares are “held in street name” and why is this significant?
A. Simply stated that there are several ways that your ownership of LICT may be represented. Shares may be held in the form of a certificate issued by LICT’s stock transfer agent and registered in the name of the owning individual, corporation, partnership or trust. Shares may also be held by an intermediary bank or broker (commonly referred to as a “nominee”), who in turn holds the shares for your direct benefit. The latter category, in which your shares are held by a nominee, is also referred to as shares held in “street name” The bank or broker is responsible for maintain records of beneficial ownership and LICT does not have access to such records.
Q. If I own shares in street name and own shares directly may I make a designation with respect to the shares held in street name?
A. No. The shares registered in street name are not eligible to participate.
Q. Can shares held in an Individual Retirement Account (“IRA”) be eligible to participate?
A. If properly registered in certificate form your shares would be eligible to participate. Shares in an IRA that are held in street name are ineligible. Due to income tax restrictions on IRAs, you will need to make special arrangements with your IRA bank/broker to safe keep your shares, which would be issued in certificate (or physical) form. You should contact your bank/broker and LICT’s stock transfer agent for exact instructions on how this may be accomplished.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS OF CHARITIES
Q. How many charities may I designate?
A. You may designate one charity to receive the “entitlement” amount shown on the designation form.
Q. What charities are eligible for a donation under the program?
A. You may only designate and we will only make contributions to organize qualified to receive tax deductible donations. We refer to the Exempt Organization Select List of the U.S. Treasury Department to determine whether an organization is a qualified charity. The following links may be used:
http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Exempt-Organizations-Select-Check
or
Guidestar.org
Q. May I nominate a charity to receive a donation from LICT in satisfaction of my personal “pledge” to that charity?
A. No. Satisfaction of your personal pledge with a donation from this program is deemed an economic benefit to you, which is prohibited. The form that you sign and return to LICT contains a warranty that you do not receive any economic benefit from the donation.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION FORMS
Q. How will LICT determine timely receipt of my contribution form? A. We will mail a charitable nomination form to you on or about August 1st. We must physically receive your completed form by the August 11, 2017 deadline to be timely. We do not base timely receipt on the post mark date of your response. Only forms actually received by the August 11, 2017 deadline will be honored.
Q. Will LICT accept my form by fax or scanned email?
A. We will not accept completed forms by either fax or email.
TAX CONSEQUENCES
Q. Are there any tax consequences to me as a result of this program?
A. The amounts that you designate are neither income to you nor are you entitles to a tax deduction on your tax return. The result is predicated on your not receiving any personal economic benefit from the donation. The contribution form that you return to LICT contains a warranty to that effect.
OTHER MATTERS
Q. Will the Company contact me if it has questions about my reply form?
A. Probably not. The number of shareholders makes this impractical. If the charity has not been listed in the Exempt Organization Select Check described above and it is not otherwise obvious to us that the designee is an IRS qualified charity, the Company may not act on the designation. LICT may at its discretion disregard all or a part of your designation forms if it believes the rules have been violated.
Q. Will the charity know that it received the contribution because of my designation?
A. Unless you request anonymity, a voucher will be attached to the contribution check when it is sent, showing your name and address exactly as it appears in the reply form enclosed. (Changes to your name or address will not be made for purposes of this program.)
Q. When should I call or write to the Company to inform that my designated contribution has not been received by the charity that I designated?
A. Please write, but not until after September 30, 2017. Only limited possibilities for the Company to investigate exist before that time because canceled contribution checks will likely not have been returned before that time.
Q. How do I contact the Company if I have additional questions?
A. You may contact us through email at shareholdergiving@lictcorp.com or by phone at (914) 921-8821.