Fed: Defence doesn't know what it owns, watchdog finds

AAP General News (Australia)
12-30-2005
Fed: Defence doesn't know what it owns, watchdog finds

Sloppy Defence Department accounting has left the taxpayer watchdog unable to vouch
for more than four billion dollars.

Auditor-General IAN MCPHEE'S opinion that Defence essentially doesn't know what it
owns .. is among a raft of adverse findings in his latest assessment of government statements
and accounting practices.







The tax office has also been criticised .. with the report finding the ATO has to correct
close to seven billion dollars worth of mistakes in its financial statements for 2004
to 2005.

In total .. the Auditor-General's found 18 breaches of the constitution by government
departments and agencies.

They mainly relate to ineffective agreements to retain and spend revenue from independent
sources.

The report also questions the government's repeated claim the GST is a state tax ..

saying the failure to recognise it as a federal tax has resulted in the government understating
its revenue by close to 36 billion dollars.

But Mr MCPHEE's found the accounting practices of the giant Defence Department to be
in the biggest state of disarray.

AAP RTV rp/goc/bart

KEYWORD: ACCOUNTS (CANBERRA)

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