Debt Is More Than $3 Billion, GAO Says
Thursday, June 16, 2005; A01
Thousands of federal contractors working for civilian government agencies together owe more than $3 billion in unpaid taxes, according to a report to be released today by a Senate subcommittee.
In one case, the owner of a firm that provides security guards to the Department of Homeland Security transferred payroll taxes withheld from workers' paychecks to a foreign bank account instead of the government and used the money to build a house overseas.
The owner of another company, one that supplies health care services to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Health and Human Services, piled up more than $18 million in unpaid payroll taxes while buying multimillion-dollar properties and luxury vehicles.
And one contractor that furnishes temporary workers to the Department of Housing and Urban Development has owed back taxes for nearly two decades, simply closing businesses and starting new ones when the bills get too high.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/15/AR2005061502511.html