{"id":2370089,"date":"2024-11-17T18:47:02","date_gmt":"2024-11-17T23:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rules-for-thee-irs-agents-govt-employees-owe-stunning-1-5-billion-in-back-taxes-report\/"},"modified":"2024-11-17T18:50:25","modified_gmt":"2024-11-17T23:50:25","slug":"rules-for-thee-irs-agents-govt-employees-owe-stunning-1-5-billion-in-back-taxes-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rules-for-thee-irs-agents-govt-employees-owe-stunning-1-5-billion-in-back-taxes-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Rules for Thee: IRS Agents, Gov&#8217;t Employees Owe Stunning $1.5 Billion in Back Taxes &#8211; Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frules-for-thee-irs-agents-govt-employees-owe-stunning-1-5-billion-in-back-taxes-report%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2370089&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The text discusses a growing\u2064 concern among Republican senators\u200d regarding federal employees who are not paying their federal\u2062 taxes. A recent audit reported that around 149,000 federal \u2062employees collectively owe \u200b$1.5 billion in unpaid taxes. Senator Joni\u200c Ernst\u200b highlighted that some employees are\u200b repeat\u200d offenders, failing to file \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-grants-26-pardons-and-3-commutations-includes-numerous-prominent-names\/\" title=\"Trump Grants 26 Pardons And 3 Commutations, Includes Numerous Prominent Names\">tax returns<\/a>\u200b consistently. She criticized \u200cthe Internal\u2064 Revenue Service (IRS) for\u200c not addressing these issues, especially as they target \u200clower-income\u2063 and middle-class Americans with audits.<\/p>\n<p>Senator\u2064 Chuck Grassley\u200b expressed similar concerns, emphasizing that federal employees have a greater\u2064 responsibility to comply with tax laws \u2063and \u2064calling for \u200cthe\u2063 IRS to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">prioritize cases involving tax delinquency<\/a> among federal employees. In light of these findings, Senator Mike Braun proposed the Federal Employees and Retirees \u2062with\u200b Delinquent\u200c Tax Debt Initiative (FERDI) Act, which aims to disqualify individuals with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-irs-says-it-will-pursue-high-income-earners-who-failed-to-file-tax-returns\/\" title=\"IRS to target wealthy non-filers\">delinquent tax debts<\/a>\u200d from federal employment and require regular reporting on the tax\u2062 liabilities of federal employees. The text underscores \u2062the irony of\u200c tax collectors\u2063 failing to pay their taxes, \u2062raising issues of trust\u200b and \u2064accountability in\u2064 the IRS.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Republican senators have been up in arms over reports issued over the past 18 months indicating the extent to which federal employees are not paying their federal taxes.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ernst.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/irs_tax_compliance1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">July letter<\/a>, Republican Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/joni-ernst-bestows-wasteful-government-spending-award-department-defense\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Joni Ernst<\/a> of Iowa noted that a recent audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found that 149,000 federal employees owe $1.5 billion in unpaid taxes.<\/p>\n<p>It gets worse.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Tens of thousands are repeat tax cheats, failing to file tax returns year after year, and the number is steadily increasing,&rdquo; she wrote.<\/p>\n<p>In the letter, she challenged Internal Revenue Service Commission Daniel &nbsp;Werfel to make &ldquo;thousands of tax-evading tax collectors at the IRS.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Ernst noted that an audit found more than 5,800 employees of the IRS and its contractors owe almost $50 million in overdue taxes.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Report claims 150,000 employees across various federal agencies owe $1.5 billion in overdue taxes. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lC3NkCutVE\">pic.twitter.com\/lC3NkCutVE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Paul Kikos &#127760; (@PKikos) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PKikos\/status\/1857379505410818436?\">November 15, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There is absolutely nothing fair about forcing hardworking Americans to pay the salaries of tax-evading tax collectors while the IRS targets lower-income5 and middle-class Americans with nearly two-thirds of the new audits,&rdquo; she wrote.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Surely the irony and hypocrisy can&rsquo;t be missed here: taxpayers are being forced to pay billions more to the IRS to audit America while the agency won&rsquo;t even collect the tens of millions of dollars in unpaid taxes owed by its employees.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Taxpayers will never trust the IRS when the agency&rsquo;s own auditors can&rsquo;t even pass a tax audit,&rdquo; she continued.<\/p>\n<p>Republican Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/republicans-warn-biden-plan-deploy-army-irs-agents-harass-taxpayers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chuck Grassley<\/a> of Iowa <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grassley.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/grassley_to_irs_-_tax_delinquent_federal_employees.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote Werfel<\/a> to express his outrage at the 17,000 federal employees who are repeat tax offenders.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Federal employees have a heightened responsibility to be compliant in paying their tax obligations,&rdquo; Grassley wrote, adding that &ldquo;the IRS should prioritize cases where federal employees are in brazen noncompliance with tax laws by failing to file their tax returns and, in some cases, for several years.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The IRS&rsquo;s apparent enforcement failures against federal employees is unacceptable. Taxpayers deserve to be assured that federal employees, whose salaries and benefits are funded through taxpayer dollars, are held to account by the IRS for failing to pay their taxes just like the rest of the American people are held to account.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Amid these disclosures, Republican Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana offered a proposal that languished in the Democrat-controlled Senate but could have new life now that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-picks-new-secretary-previously-censored-cnn-media-horrified\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GOP controls<\/a> the House, Senate and White House.<\/p>\n<p>In March 2023, Braun<a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/118th-congress\/senate-bill\/1011\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> introduced<\/a> the Federal Employees and Retirees with Delinquent Tax Debt Initiative (FERDI) Act<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This bill disqualifies individuals with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fetterman-wants-to-invest-more-in-public-schools-he-once-owed-his-school-district-tens-of-thousands\/\" title=\"Fetterman Wants To \u2018Invest More\u2019 in Public Schools. He Once Owed His School District Tens of Thousands.\">delinquent tax debt<\/a> from federal employment and requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to regularly publish a report on the tax liabilities of federal employees,&rdquo; the bill summary said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Specifically, the bill disqualifies both applicants and current employees with seriously delinquent tax debt from federal employment.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<style> \t\t\t \t\t\t.insticator-unit.type-commenting{margin: 0 10px 25px 10px}@media screen and (max-width:1060px){#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{margin: 0 auto 25px auto !important;}}#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{height: 280px !important; width: 336px !important} \t\t<\/style>\n<div class=\"insticator-unit type-commenting\">\n<div class=\"insticator-ads\"> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t<script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> \t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"insticator-ads additional\"> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t<script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> \t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republican senators are outraged by reports from the last 18 months revealing that many federal employees are failing to pay their taxes. In a July letter, Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa highlighted an audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, which found that 149,000 federal workers owe $1.5 billion in unpaid taxes. She pointed out that many of these individuals repeatedly evade tax obligations year after year. Ernst challenged IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel to address the issue of &#8220;tax-evading tax collectors&#8221; within the agency.<\/p>\n<p>The audit also revealed that over 5,800 IRS employees and contractors owe nearly $50 million in overdue taxes. Ernst criticized the unfairness of taxpayers funding salaries for those who do not comply with tax laws while facing increased audits themselves, particularly among lower-income and middle-class Americans.<\/p>\n<p>Senator Chuck Grassley expressed his anger regarding 17,000 federal employees who are repeat offenders when it comes to paying taxes and emphasized that they have a greater responsibility to comply with tax laws. He urged the IRS to prioritize enforcement against these noncompliant federal workers.<\/p>\n<p>In response to these issues, Senator Mike Braun proposed legislation aimed at disqualifying individuals with delinquent tax debts from federal employment and requiring regular reporting on federal employee tax liabilities\u2014a proposal that may gain traction now that Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2370090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Michael-Featured-Image-65.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[45191,8362,10964],"class_list":["post-2370089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-government-employees","tag-irs","tag-taxes"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Michael-Featured-Image-65.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2370089"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2370093,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370089\/revisions\/2370093"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2370090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2370089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2370089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2370089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}