I refer to your editorial regarding the South African Revenue Service (SARS), its governance and the Davis tax committee (Davis’s advice in taxing times, November 14). I’ve often mused on some day publishing the names of those entities that turned down my firm’s offer to provide them with a frank analysis and measurement of the soundness of their governance — Sharemax and SARS among them. In July 2002, when we made public the existence of our ratings of the soundness of governance, SARS happened to be occupying the stall next to us and I walked across and said that I believed they should be the first to use our services. Weeks later, we made the pitch and were turned down vociferously. On the way out, a senior SARS staffer said he was sorry about the negative outcome; he was of the view that SARS really needed this kind of service "because, you know, the commissioner is like a king!", with strong emphasis on the last word. Of course, we have our own views, but that comment has stuck...
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