The report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said 1,146 IRS employees received bonuses within a year of substantiated federal tax compliance problems.
The
Wall Street Journal Headline: "IRS Workers Disciplined For
Misconduct Were Awarded Bonuses." (John D. McKinnon, "IRS Workers
Disciplined For Misconduct Were Awarded Bonuses," The
Wall Street Journal, 4/22/14)
A
Government Audit Found Over 2,800 IRS Employees Received More Than $2.8 Million
In Performance Bonuses Despite Recently Being Disciplined. "More than
2,800 Internal Revenue Service employees who recently had been disciplined
received performance bonuses totaling more than $2.8 million between Oct. 1,
2010 and Dec. 31, 2012, a government audit found." (John D. McKinnon, "IRS
Workers Disciplined For Misconduct Were Awarded Bonuses," The
Wall Street Journal, 4/22/14)
"The
Report Identified Nearly 1,200 Employees With Tax Issues Or Official-Conduct
Violations During The Period Who Received A Total Of $1.1 Million In Monetary
Bonuses, And About 11,000 Hours Of Time Off." (John D. McKinnon, "IRS
Workers Disciplined For Misconduct Were Awarded Bonuses," The
Wall Street Journal, 4/22/14)
- IRS Employees With Tax Problems Received 10,582 Hours Of Paid Time Off And 69 Received Permanent Raises. "The bonuses weren't just monetary. Employees with tax problems received a total of 10,582 hours of paid time off - valued at about $250,000 - and 69 received permanent raises through a step increase, the report said. The report looked at bonuses in 2011 and 2012." (Gregory Korte, "IRS Workers Who Didn't Pay Taxes Got Bonuses," USA Today, 4/22/14
According
To The Audit, Employees That Received Bonuses Misused Government Travel Cards,
Violated Official-Conduct Standards And Committed Fraud, With Discipline Ranging
From Reprimands To Removal. "The misconduct ranged from failure to pay
taxes to misuse of government travel cards, violation of official-conduct
standards and fraud, according to the report by the Treasury Inspector General
for Tax Administration. The discipline included written reprimands, suspensions
and even removal. The oversight agency said some of the conduct issues might
have occurred after an employee earned a bonus." (John D. McKinnon, "IRS Workers
Disciplined For Misconduct Were Awarded Bonuses," The
Wall Street Journal, 4/22/14)
The
Inspector General Found IRS Policy Of Giving Bonuses Was In Conflict With Its
Responsibility To Ensure "The Integrity Of The System Of Tax Administration."
"While not specifically prohibited by IRS policies, providing awards to
employees with conduct issues, especially the failure to pay taxes owed to the
Federal Government, appears to be in conflict with the IRS's charge of ensuring
the integrity of the system of tax administration. In addition, awards provided
to these employees could be put to better use by providing employees who are
compliant additional opportunities for awards." ("The Awards Program Complied
With Federal Regulations, But Some Employees With Tax And Conduct Issues
Received Awards," Treasury
Inspector General For Tax Administration, 3/21/14)
WASHINGTON, April 22, 2014— The Internal Revenue Service handed out $2.8 million in bonuses to employees with disciplinary issues — including more than $1 million to employees who didn’t pay their federal taxes, a watchdog report says.The report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said 1,146 IRS employees received bonuses within a year of substantiated federal tax compliance problems.The bonuses weren’t just monetary. Employees with tax problems received a total of 10,582 hours of paid time off — valued at about $250,000 — and 69 received permanent raises through a step increase, the report said. The report looked at bonuses in 2011 and 2012.Employees’ tax problems included “willful understatement of tax liabilities over multiple tax years, late payment of tax liabilities, and underreporting of income,” the report said.“We take seriously our unique role as this nation’s tax administrator, and we will strive to implement a policy that protects the integrity of the tax administration system and the reputation of the service,” IRS chief Human Capital Officer David Krieg said in a written response to the audit.The IRS said it has instituted a policy to take conduct into account when handing out bonuses to senior executives. Making that policy apply to all of the agency’s workers would require negotiations with the National Treasury Employees Union.
