Here in the States, the "cap" & the need for receipts are prompted by what companies have to show when they file their tax returns, to justify their business expenditures. Even if a company credit card is used, meals have to be less than $25 per person, there must be a receipt, & there must be a legitimate business purpose for the meal, or the employee has to reimburse the company. If the employee can't adequately explain what was discussed & what necessitated the discussion, he has to ante up. Also, the "cap" varies with the locale. More is allowed in New York City, San Francisco, etc., but less in much of the country, especially in small towns. The books of government entities are audited the same way. The Gov't Accounting Office (GAO) audits federal agencies & departments on the same basis. Lobbyists are scrutinized fairly carefully too, in their attempts to curry favor with legislators & officials. But Radwanski was really a piker, compared to Cirac, whose immediate family members received all kinds of largesse (lucrative business contracts, villas, expensive cars, etc., according to published reports) from Iraq for years. Wasn't anyone in France watching? What it boils down to is that we are all capable of succumbing to temptation, & those in office have the power that corrupts. How about Fellegi? He seems to have "absolute power".... Betty Malone

Sock it to'em Betty!! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Betty Malone" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2003 8:29 AM Subject: [CCC] travel & entertainment expenses > Here in the States, the "cap" & the need for receipts are prompted by what companies have to show when they file their tax returns, to justify their business expenditures. Even if a company credit card is used, meals have to be less than $25 per person, there must be a receipt, & there must be a legitimate business purpose for the meal, or the employee has to reimburse the company. > > If the employee can't adequately explain what was discussed & what necessitated the discussion, he has to ante up. Also, the "cap" varies with the locale. More is allowed in New York City, San Francisco, etc., but less in much of the country, especially in small towns. The books of government entities are audited the same way. The Gov't Accounting Office (GAO) audits federal agencies & departments on the same basis. Lobbyists are scrutinized fairly carefully too, in their attempts to curry favor with legislators & officials. > > But Radwanski was really a piker, compared to Cirac, whose immediate family members received all kinds of largesse (lucrative business contracts, villas, expensive cars, etc., according to published reports) from Iraq for years. Wasn't anyone in France watching? What it boils down to is that we are all capable of succumbing to temptation, & those in office have the power that corrupts. How about Fellegi? He seems to have "absolute power".... > > Betty Malone > > > ==== CANADA-CENSUS-CAMPAIGN Mailing List ==== > How to unsubscribe from Mail Mode. Send a message to > [email protected] that contains > (in the Subject line and body of the message) the command > -- unsubscribe -- and no additional text. >