Thursday 23 September 2010

The Wit & Wisdom of SOLACE (Society of Local Authority Chief Executives)

From the FT:

All tax returns – both of companies and individuals – should be made public and listed companies should lose the right to appoint their own auditors, according to local authority chief executives.

At a time of huge public spending cuts, the move would help close the £42bn gap that HM Revenue and Customs says exists between the amount of tax that should be collected and the amount actually paid, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives said on Wednesday.

It would also ensure that the greater transparency over spending now being demanded of the public sector was matched by similar transparency over how the money is raised, Derek Myers, chairman of Solace’s management board, said.

Mr Myers, chief executive of Kensington and Chelsea, one of the top performing councils, said local authorities had no problem with the coalition’s demand that every line of expenditure above £500 should be published, along with council salaries...


In case you're wondering, Kensington & Chelsea is a hardcore Tory-run council.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I expect to see the council's books, because that's my money they are spending. I don't expect to see my neighbour's books, because he spends his own money.

Mark Wadsworth said...

Anon, exactly. SOLACE appear to overlook that 'the state' (i.e. HM Revenue & Customs) already sees everybody's tax returns.