An audit has revealed that a group of Internal Revenue Service employees who missed the April 15 deadline for taxes last week and are in trouble over tax issues were rewarded with bonuses, CNN Money reported.
Over two years, the IRS allocated more than $2.8 million, plus thousands of hours of paid time-off, to 2,800 employees who had recently been disciplined for various types of misconduct, according to an audit report.
Another 1,150 workers, who owed back taxes between October 2010 and December 2012, were dispensed with $1 million in bonuses as well.
Willful understatement of tax liabilities, late payments and under-reporting of income are some of the tax problems, according to the report issued by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
Providing awards to employees who fail to pay taxes "appears to create a conflict with the IRS's charge of ensuring the integrity of the system of tax administration," the report said.
Although IRS doesn't have any federal regulation which requires consideration of tax compliance upon issuing bonuses to employees, the agency claimed that the policy will be changed, as per the audit's suggestion.
"We strive to protect the integrity of the tax system, and we recognize the need for proper personnel policies," the agency said in a statement.
J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, who filed the report, said that though the bonuses had not been bestowed illegally, the act represents a stark divergence from the IRS' stated mission, Entrepreneur reported.
"While not prohibited, providing awards to employees who have been disciplined for failing to pay federal taxes appears to create a conflict with the IRS's charge of ensuring the integrity of the system of tax administration," George said.
None of the executives were issued with awards over the past four years due to disciplinary action, the IRS said. A consideration for the policy to be extended for all employees is now being made.
