Hearing on Bills Targeting Tax Deadbeats

On Thursday, April 19, 2007, at 1:00 pm, in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building, the Subcommittee will hold a legislative hearing on two bills related to tax collection.  The first bill is the Contractor Tax Enforcement Act, which would prohibit delinquent federal tax debtors from being eligible to contract with federal agencies.  The second bill would amend Title 31 of the United States Code by authorizing a pilot program for local governments to offset federal tax refunds to collect local tax debts.  Contractors owe the federal government billions of dollars in delinquent taxes, and the Contractor Tax Enforcement Act is designed to mandate that tax compliance be a prerequisite for receiving a federal contract.  In 2005, GAO reported that roughly 33,000 civilian agency contractors owed over $3 billion in unpaid federal taxes as of September 30, 2004.     

Similarly, a 2004 GAO report on tax abuses by contractors working for the Department of Defense (DOD), the largest purchaser of goods and services in the federal government, found that over 27,000 DOD contractors owed nearly $3 billion in unpaid taxes. 

The following witnesses offered testimony:

  PANEL I (H.R. 1870) 

The Honorable J. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration 

The Honorable Paul A. Denett, Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President 

Mr. Gregory D. Kutz, Managing Director, Forensic Audits and Special Investigations, U.S. Government Accountability Office   

PANEL II (H.R. 1865) 

The Honorable Mick Cornett, Mayor, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Representing the U.S. Conference of Mayors 

The Honorable Barbara Ford-Coates, Tax Collector, Sarasota County, Florida Representing the National Association of Counties and the National Association of County Treasurers and Finance Officers 

Ms. Patricia Weth, Deputy Treasurer, On behalf of The Honorable Francis X. O’Leary, Treasurer, Arlington County, Virginia