GAO: Contractors Owe $3B in Unpaid Taxes

[Judi Lynn]

GAO: Contractors Owe $3B in Unpaid Taxes
Congressional Investigators Find More Than 27,000 Defense Contractors Owe $3B in Unpaid Taxes

The Associated Press



WASHINGTON Feb. 12 — A total of $3 billion in unpaid taxes is owed by more than 27,000 defense contractors, according to government records reviewed by congressional investigators.

Auditors at the Government Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, studied taxes owed in budget year that ended Sept. 30, 2002.

They concluded the Pentagon should have made a dent in the billions owed by collecting at least $100 million in unpaid taxes that year. A 1997 law requires federal agencies to withhold 15 percent from payments to individuals or businesses with unpaid tax bills.

Since 1997, the Defense Department has collected only about $687,000.
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