Members of the Senate Finance Committee requested a full accounting of an IRS rewards system on Monday that allegedly distributed cash bonuses and time off for employees who owed back taxes and received reprimands.
More than 2,900 IRS employees with conduct issues received $2.8 million in rewards between Oct. 1, 2010, and Dec. 21, 2012. The compensated employees included 1,100 employees who owed back taxes and received $1 million in cash rewards, according to a Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) report.
Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) were among members of the Senate Finance Committee who signed a letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen regarding the matter on Monday.
“We would appreciate an explanation of how the agency’s award system accounts for improper conduct by IRS employees,” the senators said. “Further, we believe bonus payments to employees who have violated federal tax laws are improper and should, to the extent consistent with the law, be immediately rescinded.”
The senators raised concerns that findings of the TIGTA report contradicted committee testimony that Koskinen gave last month in which he said every dollar invested in the IRS resulted in $4 in revenue.
The senators also questioned why recent disciplinary action wasn’t considered when determining an employee’s eligibility for a reward. They requested information on personnel policy changes that would strengthen IRS employee compliance and an account of how many IRS employees violated tax laws compared to the number who were disciplined.
Roberts co-authored legislation last week that would prohibit the IRS from giving performance bonuses to employees who owe back taxes or violated tax law.