Deadbeats in DC: Congressional employees owe millions in back taxes
Federal workers across the fruited plain owe more than $1 billion in back taxes. That’s bad enough. But now comes the news that congressional employees owe more than $9.3 million.
Federal workers across the fruited plain owe more than $1 billion in back taxes. That’s bad enough. But now comes the news that congressional employees owe more than $9.3 million.
The Washington Post has the deadbeat details:
A fish rots from the head down: Tax cheat Tim Geithner apparently sets the tone for all of Washington
The debt among Hill employees has risen at a faster rate than the overall tax debt on the government’s books, according to Internal Revenue Service data. It comes at a time when some Republican members are pushing for the firings of government workers who owe the IRS and President Obama has urged a crackdown on delinquent government contractors.
The IRS information does not identify delinquent taxpayers by name, party affiliation or job title and does not indicate whether members of Congress are among the scofflaws. It shows that 638 employees, or about 4 percent, of the 18,000 Hill workers owe money.
The average unpaid tax bill is $12,787 among the Senate’s delinquent taxpayers and $15,498 among those working in the House.
And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, it does. Poke into any corner in Washington, DC and you’ll find deadbeats:
41 White House employees owe the government $831,055 in back taxes. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis’ runs a department in which 463 employes owe $7,481,463. Eighty-one people working for the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors owe $1,076,733. And Eric Holder’s Justice Department has a remarkable 1,971 employees who have stiffed the government for $14,350,152 in overdue taxes. Janet Napolitano, Director of Homeland Security, has 4,856 employees who owe the IRS $37,012,174.
Fact is, they all owe us an apology. With penalties and interest.
