Legislation Aims to Cut Perks for IRS "Cheats"

The list of government departments and agencies reads like a list of who's who in our nation's capital: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sits at the very top with favorability ratings any presidential candidate would covet. Below the CDC are NASA, the Defense Department, the EPA, the CIA, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the National Security Agency. And the agency viewed least favorably by Americans?

No surprise. It's the Internal Revenue Service. It's also no surprise that there are profoundly negative reactions to the news that some IRS employees have "seriously delinquent tax debt." And reactions turn even sourer when people learn that those same employees are sometimes given performance bonuses, time-off awards, and promotions.

Some of our Cleveland readers will recall that we wrote about tax-delinquent IRS employees some time ago. Now there's news that several congressional representatives have introduced the No Bonuses for Tax Cheats Act. If it passes the House of Representatives and Senate - and is signed into law by the president - it would slam the brakes on the perks given to agency workers who are way behind on taxes.

Federal News Radio reports that it received a message from the NTEU (the union for federal employees) pointing out that "IRS employees have a higher rate of tax compliance than virtually any other group; three times higher than Congress." The claim raises an interesting question: should Congress pass a law cracking down on its own tax-delinquent members?

For those taxpayers who have substantial tax debt and are less connected than members of Congress or employees of the IRS, it makes sense to connect with an attorney experienced in favorably resolving these matters with the nation's tax collector. You can contact the tax attorneys at Robert J. Fedor, Esq., L.L.C. in Cleveland for more information about how you can resolve long-standing, complex tax issues.