Report: Most IRS Employees Caught Cheating on Taxes Allowed to Keep Their Jobs

Have you ever wondered what happens to IRS employees who cheat on their taxes?

According to numbers released by the inspector general���s office, and reported on by The Washington Times, most simply get to keep their jobs.

While privacy rules prevent the agency from providing specifics, it is known that in the reporting period April 2016 ��� September 2016, nine employees who were caught cheating saw their penalties subject to ���mitigation��� by IRS Commissioner John Koskinen ��� ���mitigation��� means that the offenders received punishments in the range of suspension to reprimand. Additionally, during the same period, one to three employees were allowed to resign, and another one to three were overtly terminated. Based on these numbers, it can be concluded that anywhere from 60 to as many as 82 percent of IRS employees caught intentionally cheating were allowed to stay on.

The Washington Times disclosed in their piece that when the inspector general released a report in 2015 on the specific issue of tax cheating by IRS employees, the ���leniency rate��� at that time was 61 percent.

In a statement, the IRS said, ���The vast majority of IRS employees, nearly 99 percent, file and pay their taxes timely ��� one of the highest tax compliance rates across government agencies and higher than general taxpayer population estimates.���

That doesn���t cut it with a lot of folks, including Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.).

���The privileged and well-connected should not get to live and work by another standard,��� said Walker. ���Just like with Commissioner John Koskinen, these IRS employees have failed in performing their duties and have neglected the laws they are supposed to uphold.���

Walker���s shot at Koskinen is a reference to the way he gave Congress the run-around during that body���s investigation into the harassment of Tea Party groups by the IRS. He and other congressional Republicans fired off a letter to President Trump last week that requested John Koskinen be removed from his position as IRS Commissioner.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large