If you Don't pay Your Taxes, Should You Lose Your Government Job? (H.R. 1563)

What is H.R. 1563?

(Updated November 8, 2020)

This bill would give the heads of government agencies the power to fire federal employees for having "seriously delinquent" tax debt — basically if the government can seize your property or take you to court because of all the taxes you owe.  

The bill would also require federal agencies to check if people applying for federal jobs have paid their taxes. This can be done by having applicants "certify" that they don't owe the government money — basically have them sign off on letting the Secretary of the Treasury disclose their tax information. Agencies are also encouraged to check public records to see if applicants owe taxes. 

The bill comes with a confidentiality agreement: department heads that get a person's tax information wouldn't be able to share it with anyone else, or use it for anything other than determining their eligibility for the position.

There would be a couple of exceptions for federal employees. If the applicant or employee was in the process of paying their debt or in a hearing about their debt, they couldn’t be fired. The employee would also have 180 days to show that they were taking the above steps — so, if your boss caught you with back taxes, you could theoretically start payin’ up to keep your job. 

Finally, if an employee is "in a situation involving financial hardship" and keeping them on the payroll is found to be “in the best interests of the United States,” they can keep their job.

Argument in favor

The government needs taxpayer dollars to keep operations running. People that evade taxes are hurting the country. Government employee tax-dodgers are especially bad: they’re earning money off taxpayers while not contributing.

Argument opposed

Federal employees are more likely to pay their taxes than regular taxpayers. That said, if you fire the federal employees who don't pay their taxes, the U.S. will never recoup those missing tax dollars — how will they pay taxes without an income?

Impact

People who don't pay their taxes, taxpayers, federal employees and the agencies they work for, heads of federal agencies, and the Internal Revenue Service.

Cost of H.R. 1563

The CBO estimates that implementing this bill would cost $1 million from 2016 to 2020. Those funds, if they're available, would be used for certification forms, the development of new regulations, and for the time spent reviewing the records of current and prospective employees.

Additional Info

Of Note: 

According to an IRS report on 2014 data, federal employees together owe a total of about $3.5 billion in unpaid taxes. And according to the CBO, the revenue that this bill will collect won’t be significant. What’s up with that?

Well, it's worth noting that 97 percent of federal employees pay their taxes, compared to 91 percent of regular taxpayers. So there is, theoretically, way more cash in owed taxes outside Washington than in it. 

It’s worth remembering that not paying your taxes can have some serious consequences. If you don’t pay your taxes, the government can take your stuff. Pay your taxes. You’ll miss your stuff!

Media:

Sponsoring Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) Press Release (Previous Bill Version)

CBO Cost Estimate

House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (In Support)

Washington Post

Government Executive

Federal News Radio