Owe back taxes?
House approves ban on tax-delinquent US contractors
The House approved legislation to prohibit the awarding of federal contracts to individuals or companies with seriously delinquent tax debts.
The Contracting and Tax Accountability Act [H.R. 1562] is sponsored by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-UT, chair of the House Oversight Committee.
“If you have unaddressed tax delinquency issues, you should not be awarded government contracts or grants,” Chaffetz said in a statement. “This bill is a common sense way to ensure that we prioritize law-abiding taxpayers above those who are skirting their legal duty to pay taxes.”
The bill previously included language to fire federal employees who were seriously delinquent in paying taxes, but that provision was removed.
The Government Accountability Office in a 2014 report found that about 83,000 Defense Dept. employees and contractors had unpaid federal tax debt totaling more than $730 million as of June 2012.
More information: GAO Report: http://goo.gl/3QWxbk