Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) co-sponsored a measure on Wednesday that would prevent the IRS from giving performance bonuses to employees who have committed serious misconduct or owe back taxes.
Burr and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) co-authored the bipartisan No Bonuses for Tax Cheats Act. The bill follows a report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) that IRS employees who committed misconduct or were delinquent on their takes recently received $2.8 million in bonuses.
“If the American people are going to trust the IRS to administer the tax code, the agency needs to get its own house in order,” Burr said. “Employees who choose not to follow the law they are entrusted to enforce are a threat to the integrity and mission of the IRS, and they should not be sheltered or rewarded in any way. It is my hope that the Senate will swiftly adopt this commonsense and bipartisan piece of legislation so that misconduct is no longer rewarded at taxpayer expense.”
The legislation would prevent the IRS from giving bonuses to employees who have delinquent taxes and in cases where “substantial evidence of misconduct” can be found.
“It is appalling and completely unacceptable that millions of dollars in bonuses were given to IRS employees who haven’t been paying their taxes,” Manchin said. “The faith of the American people in our government is bruised every time negligence and indecency of this sort comes to light. How can we expect the American people – many of whom are struggling to make ends meet – to trust their government when they learn that the very agency charged with collecting their tax dollars is rewarding employees who haven’t paid theirs?”