return of capital

[R W]

Have just installed v1.8.9 from the debian/testing
collection-it looks good, thanks guys.  The QIF import
is much better than last time I tried (v1.6).

However I've struck an obstacle right away:  how do I
enter a "Return of Capital" transaction on a stock?  

Heres the scenario:

I buy 1000 ENV @ $1.00  (Ignore commissions etc for
the moment).

Twice a year the company direct-credits my bank acount
with $50 consisting of $20 interest and $30 capital
return. 

The interest component is simply enough- a transfer
from Income:ENV:Interest to Assetts:Bank

Under Australian tax law a return of capital isnt
treated as income when you recieve it but instead
"reduces the cost base"- in effect gets added to any
capital gain you make when you sell.

It seems to me that I need to enter a transfer from
Assetts:Stocks:ENV to Assetts:Bank of $30.  This
transfer needs to decrease the cash balance of
Assetts:Stocks:ENV without decreasing the number of 
shares.  However I couldnt see how to get the program
to accept this.  I would have thought it was the
equivelant of selling 0 shares for $30 but gnucash
seemed unhappy with this and kept telling me I had an
unbalanced transaction.  

Any clues?  I've been using gnucash for exactly one
day so dont assume anything  :-)






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