Posted on 07/28/2014 7:12:38 PM PDT by drewh
Some 83,000 Pentagon employees and contractors who handle classified intelligence were found to have unpaid federal taxes totaling $730 million, which makes them more likely to “compromise classified information,” according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
At least 83,000 Defense Department tax delinquents “were determined eligible for secret, top secret, or sensitive compartmented information (SCI) clearances, or related interim clearances” despite their outstanding debts, according to the report.
Some of those with back taxes are likely security-cleared employees of the executive branch, legislative branch, and the intelligence community, due to the large scope of the GAO’s analysis.
Pentagon officials warned that “individuals having access to classified information pose a greater risk because they have more opportunity to actually compromise classified information than a person who is only eligible to access classified information,” according to the GAO.
The “GAO found that about 26,000 of the 83,000 DOD employees and contractors with eligibilities who owed taxes (about 31 percent) had access to classified information, and they owed about $229 million in federal taxes as of June 2012.”
(Excerpt) Read more at freebeacon.com ...
Can one have a top secret clearance and owe taxes?
I don’t think so.
Is 0 going to install ISIS and MB in their place?
An average of $9,000?
They could if the tax lien was after filed the background check was conducted.
Only surpassed by IRS Employees who owe back taxes.
Useless article.
No differentiation between vastly different security access levels.
Also no identification of how many fed employees and contractors are participating in the nationwide movement to stop paying taxes to the feds.
Just saying...;)
Yes.
IRS employees owe hundreds of millions, too. Why aren’t they in jail for nonpayment? Some animals are more equal than others.
i did. but i also paid them.
But to maintain the security clearance, you are supposed to report adverse information like going into debt, having missed payments, etc.
Having a lien filed after the last review process and not reporting it is in and of itself a security violation. You’re supposed to report ALL adverse information - including debt like this. And unpaid tax debt is pretty obvious, whereas personal loans run up are harder to find.
OK, one more time, - - - Just why is it that the IRS has not been ABOLISHED?
A tax lien is not considered that serious an infraction unless it’s high dollar. Anything low 4 figure and its not that big of a deal. Now criminal conduct, that’s an entirely a different matter. You write a hot check intentionally and you might get your clearance revoked.
WTH is going on in this country???
A tax lien is not considered that serious an infraction unless it’s high dollar. Anything low 4 figure and its not that big of a deal. Now criminal conduct, that’s an entirely a different matter. You write a hot check intentionally and you might get your clearance revoked. Intentional, negligent or reckless behavior will get you in hot water.
Having worked around DoD, been a contractor, and for a short period been a GS employee....I will offer these observations.
When you go into the data of back taxes...it’s not the lowly GS7 to GS10 that typically owes the taxes. Its usually the higher guys GS12 to GS15. I would suggest that once you get past a certain threshold....you aren’t paying as much attention to your tax situation as you should.
I know of a number of contractors who went off to Iraq and Afghanistan and made way more than the cut-off point of money made overseas. Some tossed in thousands at the last minute into 410k options or IRAs for their wife. Some guys just kept rolling IRS-related debt over and over....arguing over certain points, and just digging themselves deeper each year.
Finally, if you look at the pay-level for Pentagon folks in the DC area....a GS13 makes $100,000 a year after four years. That’s a heck of a lot more than the pay situation back in the late 1990s. Big tax changes since 1990s? No. We haven’t done that much to the tax program.
So, we come to the interesting piece....as long as a guy admits his issues, and tells the security audit folks about his woes...that usually fixes everything. It’s like admitting drug usage, an affair, or a DWI. They might suspend the clearance for a month to sort things out....but they tend to route the guy back into the system.
It’s so simple. Just eliminate about 60 percent of corrupt bloated government at all levels outside of those necessary in the military who would actually defend the homeland. Eliminate entire corrupt departments who spend tax payers money like drunken lotto winners etc.
It’s a win win for what’s left of middle America to have streamlined efficient country.
Usually comes up during an investigation to either grant or renew the clearance - not always a show stopper if one has a plan/agreement with ones owed.
If they think the main workers are a threat, they should see some of the politicians, up to and including the president, who are a threat....
Great, I bet the government could get any of these people do do anything they wanted them to if those tax evaders owe taxes.
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