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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.

","official_title":"To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide that individuals having seriously delinquent tax debts shall be ineligible for Federal employment, and for other purposes.","short_title":"Federal Employee Tax Accountability Act of 2015","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)\n\nFederal Employee Tax Accountability Act of 2015\n\n(Sec. 2) Makes any individual who has a seriously delinquent tax debt ineligible for federal employment or to continue serving as a federal employee. 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If you Don't pay Your Taxes, Should You Lose Your Government Job?