A federal auditor says that contractors and businesses that received federal stimulus money back in 2009 owe billions in unpaid government taxes. The Government Accountability Office says that as of last fall the total bill for unpaid taxes, interest and penalties was $330 billion. “We’ve known for some time that there’s a significant tax gap in this country, and in some cases we’ve found that government contractors are contributing to the problem,” said Senator Tom Carper, a Democrat from Delaware, in a statement according to Reuters.
Carper added that “those who fail to pay their fair share… force their fellow Americans who play by the rules to pay more in taxes.” Those who have unpaid taxes from stimulus money represent just 5 percent of the 80,000 entities that received government money. The $819 billion stimulus bill was meant to jolt the economy out of a slump by handing out $275 billion worth of grants, contracts and loans.
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) told CBS News he wants to block those companies from receiving new federal dollars or business. “There’s no reason for the government to deal with companies that don’t” pay taxes, Grassley, who requested the report, told CBS. “A government contract is something to be earned, not something to be taken for granted.”
Experts say the numbers could actually be low. The GAO says it discovered 15 cases in which stimulus benefactors had not withheld payroll taxes, totaling $40 million. According to Recovery.gov, during the first quarter of 2011, recipients reported creating 571,383 jobs through contracts, grants and loans with about $265 billion being handed out.
Stimulus Recipients Owe Millions In Back Taxes is a post from: Thistle Debt Consolidation
