 Data from the Internal Revenue Service found that more than 279,000
federal employees and retirees owed $3.4 billion in back income
taxes as of Sept. 30, 2010.The data showed that 467 employees of
the House of Representatives, or about 4.2 percent of the workforce,
owed more than $8.5 million. In the Senate, 217 employees, or about
3 percent of the workforce, owed $2.13 million.
Obama's staff was not immune, either, with 36 people in Obama's
executive office of nearly 1,800 workers -- about 2 percent -- owing
the government $833,970 in back taxes.
Obama used part of his State of the Union address Tuesday night
to promote economic fairness, arguing for changes in the tax code
that would create a minimum tax rate of at least 30 percent on
anyone making more than $1 million. The finances of one of his chief
Republican rivals, Mitt Romney, have been scrutinized because he,
like many millionaires, pays a lower rate because most of his income
came from investments, which are taxed at a lower rate.
The IRS report attracted the attention of Republicans, who said
it undercut the president's argument on taxes. "If Obama wants
people to pay their 'fair share,' perhaps he should start with his
own staff,'' tweeted Republican National Committee chairman Reince
Priebus.
White House officials noted that the delinquency rate among
executive office staff had fallen from nearly 3 percent in 2008. In
2009, 41 employees in the president's executive office owed about
$830,000, representing about 2.3 percent of its workforce.
White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said the annual report was
released by the IRS because there is a "high standard for government
employees.''
“Though the report shows that fewer executive office employees
owe taxes than in the last year of the previous administration, and
we expect all employees to pay their taxes in full, more needs to be
done to ensure compliance, and the president has asked his team to
work on this issue,'' Brundage said.
Overall, the total amount owed is down slightly from September
2009, when more than 282,000 federal workers owed $3.3 billion in
taxes.
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The report does not offer specific explanations for the
delinquencies. Many people who owe back taxes file returns but
cannot pay the full amount when their taxes are due, said IRS
spokesman Anthony Burke. Others may be disputing the bill, may have
filed jointly with a spouse who owes taxes or may have had their tax
bills increased by an audit and cannot pay the higher amount.
The statistics on federal employees do not include those who are
on payment plans. The IRS doesn't provide a comparable delinquency
rate for income taxes paid by the public.
Among Cabinet agencies, the departments of Education and Housing
and Urban Development had the highest delinquency rates, at nearly 4
percent. The Treasury Department had the lowest delinquency rate, at
nearly 1 percent.
[Associated Press]
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