Owing a debt

Money | Legislator wants to make sure all government workers pay their taxes | Timothy Lamer

Illustration by Getty Images

According to an analysis by USA Today, federal workers make more money than their private-sector counterparts in 8 out of the 10 occupations surveyed. They receive far more than private-sector workers in the way of benefits and job protections. And, in the current economic downturn, they are in one of the only fields to gain jobs and even receive hefty raises.

But some government employees want more. According to IRS data, nearly 100,000 federal workers, including 678 congressional staffers, failed to pay $962 million in taxes in 2008. And, unless they work for the IRS, they cannot be fired for it.

U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, wants to change that. On March 3, Chaffetz proposed legislation that would allow Congress, the White House, and federal agencies to fire workers who are seriously delinquent in paying their taxes. Under current law, the IRS is the only agency that can fire such workers. "Federal employees have an obvious obligation to pay their federal income taxes," Chaffetz said. "Because they draw their compensation from the American taxpayers, federal employees owe it to the taxpayers themselves to pay their taxes. If not, they should be fired."