Eye Opener: Could tax-skirting feds get fired?
Updated 1:17 p.m. ET Happy Thursday! A Republican lawmaker plans to introduce legislation today that would allow the federal agencies to fire employees who fail to pay a significant portion of their taxes. The bill by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) would also make any tax delinquent ineligible for appointment to a political position at federal agencies. The Eye obtained a draft version of the bill set for release on Thursday. Employees in the process of paying back taxes or awaiting a due process hearing before the Internal Revenue Service would be exempt from the law. The measure only covers executive branch employees, because Issa’s Oversight and Government Reform Committee only has jurisdiction over the Executive Branch. As The Eye and others reported earlier this week, the IRS said federal workers owed more than $3 billion in income taxes in 2008. The IRS list accounts for tax delinquency among current and former employees of executive agencies, Congress and the military. “There is n
