'It's supposed to be non-profit . . . yet it had to pay $1.7 million in profit

LAWYERS are preparing to grill the Law Society over its multi-million-dollar expenditure amid rumours of an almost $20 million budget increase this year.

Members said they want to know why the body, with an annual income of $42.4 million, spent $15 million on staff salaries last year and holds a $23.5 million surplus.

The society has circulated its 1994 annual report, which accounts for the previous two years' spending. On Monday it announced it had re-negotiated the lease on its plush Swire House Central offices, almost doubling its rent in the process.

Lawyers intend to raise the issue of spending at the society's annual general meeting (AGM) in May. More than half of the society's $42.4 million income comes from its 3,400 members, many of whom pay annual fees of $10,000 for practising certificates and membership subscriptions.

'It's supposed to be a non-profit making organisation acting to protect the interests of its members,' said a member, Thomas Tse Lin-chung.

'Yet last year it made so much profit, it had to pay $1.7 million in profit tax. Are the profits for the good of its members or the good of the Inland Revenue?' Council member Philip Li Wai-ip cites growing concern among solicitors about the society's accountability.