Tax Compliance: Some Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Disaster
Assistance Recipients Have Unpaid Federal Taxes (16-NOV-07,
GAO-08-101R).
Since February 2004, we have issued a series of reports detailing
how some organizations and individuals, including defense,
civilian agency, and General Services Administration (GSA)
contractors; tax-exempt (not-for-profit) organizations; and
Medicare physicians, abused the federal tax system at the same
time they were doing business with or receiving benefits from the
federal government. While we performed this work it came to our
attention that some organizations and individuals that were
recipients of federal grants and other direct assistance were
also abusing the tax system. Thus, Congress asked us to perform
additional work and report specifically on organizations and
individuals that abuse the federal tax system at the same time
they receive federal grants or other similar types of federal
assistance, known as direct payments for specified use (direct
assistance) programs. Based on Congressional request, we
completed a forensic audit and related investigations of unpaid
federal taxes owed by recipients of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency's (FEMA) Individuals and Households Program
(IHP) following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. IHP is a federal
direct assistance program authorized by the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act), as
amended by the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. We conducted our
audit of IHP concurrently with our broader audit of federal grant
and direct assistance recipients that have unpaid federal taxes,
which Congress also requested. We will be reporting the results
of that work separately. The specific objectives of our work were
to (1) determine, to the extent practical, the estimated
magnitude of federal taxes owed by individuals receiving IHP
disaster assistance benefit payments following hurricanes Katrina
and Rita and (2) provide illustrative examples of abusive or
criminal activity related to the federal tax system by IHP
recipients with unpaid federal taxes.
-------------------------Indexing Terms-------------------------
REPORTNUM: GAO-08-101R
ACCNO: A78212
TITLE: Tax Compliance: Some Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Disaster
Assistance Recipients Have Unpaid Federal Taxes
DATE: 11/16/2007
SUBJECT: Audits
Delinquent taxes
Federal aid to states
Federal funds
Federal grants
Federal taxes
Housing programs
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Rita
Payments
Tax evasion
Tax law
Tax nonpayment
Tax violations
Policies and procedures
Waste, fraud, and abuse
Individuals and Households Program
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GAO-08-101R
* [1]Comments
* [2]old d08101r.pdf
* [3]Comments
* [4]PDF6-Ordering Information.pdf
* [5]GAO's Mission
* [6]Obtaining Copies of GAO Reports and Testimony
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* [9]Congressional Relations
* [10]Public Affairs
November 16, 2007
The Honorable Joseph I. Lieberman
Chairman
The Honorable Susan M. Collins
Ranking Member
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
United States Senate
The Honorable Carl Levin
Chairman
The Honorable Norm Coleman
Ranking Member
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
United States Senate
Subject: Tax Compliance: Some Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Disaster
Assistance
Recipients Have Unpaid Federal Taxes
Since February 2004, we have issued a series of reports detailing how some
organizations and individuals, including defense, civilian agency, and
General Services Administration (GSA) contractors; tax-exempt
(not-for-profit) organizations; and Medicare physicians, abused the
federal tax system at the same time they were doing business with or
receiving benefits from the federal government.1 While we performed this
work it came to our attention that some organizations and individuals that
were recipients of federal grants and other direct assistance were also
abusing the tax system. Thus, you asked us to perform additional work and
report specifically on organizations and individuals that abuse the
federal tax system at the same time they receive federal grants or other
similar types of federal assistance, known as direct payments for
specified use (direct assistance) programs.2
Based on your request, we completed a forensic audit and related
investigations of unpaid federal taxes owed by recipients of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Individuals and Households Program
(IHP) following hurricanes Katrina and Rita.3 IHP is a federal direct
assistance program authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief
and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act), as amended by the Disaster
Mitigation Act of 2000. We conducted our audit of IHP concurrently with
our broader audit of federal grant and direct assistance recipients that
have unpaid federal taxes, which you also requested. We will be reporting
the results of that work separately.
1See related GAO products at the end of this report.
2As classified by GSA's Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, published
annually pursuant to 31 U.S.C. S 6104 and OMB Circular No. A-89, Federal
Domestic Assistance Program Information (Aug. 17, 1984).
The specific objectives of our work were to (1) determine, to the extent
practical, the estimated magnitude of federal taxes owed by individuals
receiving IHP disaster assistance benefit payments following hurricanes
Katrina and Rita and (2) provide illustrative examples of abusive or
criminal activity related to the federal tax system by IHP recipients with
unpaid federal taxes.
To estimate the magnitude of unpaid federal taxes owed by IHP disaster
relief assistance recipients following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we
matched the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) tax debts as of September 30,
2005, with IHP disaster assistance benefit payments made for hurricanes
Katrina and Rita maintained in FEMA's National Emergency Management
Information System. We used only taxes assessed for tax periods prior to
2005 to ensure that our analysis included only taxes owed prior to when
the hurricanes struck. To be conservative in our estimate, we further
excluded from our analysis tax debts that had not been agreed to by the
tax debtor or affirmed by the court and tax debts of $100 or less. To
provide examples of the extent and nature of abuse or potential criminal
activity related to the federal tax system by IHP recipients with unpaid
federal taxes, we performed more in-depth investigative work on a
nonrepresentative selection of five IHP recipients. These cases were
selected based on amounts owed in federal taxes from the top 10 percent of
the IHP recipient population. For these five cases, we reviewed copies of
automated tax transcripts and other tax records (for example, revenue
officers' notes) and performed additional investigative research on
available criminal, financial, and public records.
We conducted our work from January 2007 through August 2007. We performed
our audit in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing
standards. The investigative portion of our work was completed in
accordance with investigative standards established by the President's
Council on Integrity and Efficiency.
Results in Brief
While about 95 percent of all IHP recipients of disaster relief assistance
following hurricanes Katrina and Rita paid their federal taxes, tens of
thousands owed federal taxes at the time of the disaster. We identified
about 80,000 of the 1.5 million individuals (about 5 percent) who received
disaster assistance benefits for hurricanes Katrina and Rita and owed over
$700 million combined in unpaid federal taxes prior to those hurricanes.
However, our estimates of the taxes owed by these recipients is
understated in that we did not include amounts owed by individuals who
have not filed tax returns or who have failed to report the full amount of
taxes due (referred to as nonfilers and underreporters) and for whom IRS
has not determined that specific tax debts are owed. FEMA officials stated
that they do not screen disaster applicants for tax debts. FEMA officials
stated that there is no law or regulation that requires FEMA to screen IHP
applicants prior to providing disaster assistance.
3IHP provides temporary housing or financial assistance to eligible
victims.
The five IHP recipients with which we chose to illustrate abusive and
criminal activity related to the federal tax system had tax debts ranging
from about $400,000 to over $2 million. Our investigation found that a
number of these individuals had a history of failing to file tax returns
for several years prior to the hurricane disasters. We also found
instances in which IHP recipients attempted to transfer property to avoid
IRS seizure. For example, one IHP recipient in the oil and gas industry
forged a third party's signature to illegally transfer land. Another IHP
recipient, a lawyer, transferred a large quantity of stock to a family
member while IRS was taking collection actions against the lawyer.
We received written comments on a draft of this report from the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS). In its written comments, DHS stated that
FEMA's administration of disaster assistance programs to victims of
hurricanes Katrina and Rita with tax liabilities was consistent with
federal law and policy. As recognized in our draft report, DHS is not
required to screen applicants for tax debts (see the Agency Comments and
Our Evaluation section of this report). We have reprinted DHS's written
comments in their entirety in the enclosure. In addition, IRS and DHS
provided technical comments on the draft report, which we incorporated as
appropriate.
Background
Making landfall in late August 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated much of
the Gulf Coast; the storm surge caused major or catastrophic damage along
the coastlines of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. In September 2005,
Hurricane Rita caused further devastation, making landfall on the
Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coasts. These two hurricanes left more than 1,500
dead, affected 90,000 square miles, caused more than $80 billion in
damage, and forced mass evacuations. An estimated 600,000 households were
displaced, and FEMA has reported that over 50,000 households remained in
temporary housing 2 years later.
The Stafford Act grants the principal authority for the President to
provide assistance in mitigating, responding to, and preparing for
disasters and emergencies such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods,
tornadoes, and terrorist acts. The mission of FEMA, within DHS, which
administers the Stafford Act, is to reduce loss of life and property and
protect the nation from all types of hazards through a comprehensive,
risk-based emergency management program. Section 408 of the Stafford Act,
42 U.S.C. S 5174, is the general authority for the President to provide
assistance to individuals and households. This section encompasses housing
assistance as well as "other needs" assistance, which includes medical,
dental, funeral, personal property, transportation, and other financial
assistance for certain needs arising from a major disaster. These two
types of assistance are administered by FEMA under IHP. IHP provides
housing and "other needs" assistance in the forms of direct assistance
(the provision of temporary housing units) and financial assistance (grant
funding for temporary housing and other disaster-related needs) to
eligible disaster victims.
Our previous forensic audits and related investigations found significant
control weaknesses in FEMA's disaster relief program. In several hearings,
we testified that control weaknesses in FEMA's IHP have left the
government vulnerable to significant fraud, waste, and abuse. In February
2006, we testified that specific control weaknesses in IHP resulted in
improper expedited assistance payments and nonexistent controls left the
government vulnerable to substantial fraud and abuse related to IHP.4
Several months later, in June 2006, we testified on additional work
performed whereby we projected that the weak or nonexistent controls
resulted in an estimated $600 million to $1.4 billion dollars in
potentially fraudulent and improper IHP payments or about 16 percent of
the first $6 billion of IHP disbursements for hurricanes Katrina and
Rita.5 In December 2006, we again testified that FEMA made nearly $17
million in potentially improper rental assistance payments, fraudulent
rental assistance payments, or both to individuals after they had moved
into FEMA trailers.6 Based on this work, we referred to the Katrina Fraud
Task Force thousands of cases of individuals we believe received
fraudulent and improper payments of IHP benefits.
Magnitude of Unpaid Taxes Owed by IHP Recipients
While about 95 percent of all IHP recipients of hurricanes Katrina and
Rita assistance did not have unpaid federal taxes, we identified tens of
thousands of IHP recipients with unpaid federal taxes. We identified about
80,000 of the nearly 1.5 million registrants (about 5 percent) who
received IHP disaster assistance payments for hurricanes Katrina and Rita
and had over $700 million in unpaid federal taxes at about the time the
hurricanes struck. Most of the taxes owed by these IHP recipients were
individual federal income taxes. In addition, as reflected in figure 1,
about two-thirds of unpaid federal taxes were for tax periods through
calendar year 2000.7
4GAO, Expedited Assistance for Victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita:
FEMA's Control Weaknesses Exposed the Government to Significant Fraud and
Abuse, GAO-06-403T (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 13, 2006).
5GAO, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Disaster Relief: Improper and
Potentially Fraudulent Individual Assistance Payments Estimated to Be
Between $600 Million and $1.4 Billion, GAO-06-844T (Washington, D.C.: June
14, 2006).
6GAO, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Disaster Relief: Continued Findings of
Fraud, Waste, and Abuse, GAO-07-252T (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 6, 2006).
7There is a 10-year statute of limitations beyond which IRS is prohibited
from attempting to collect tax debt. The 10-year time may be suspended for
a variety of reasons, including for periods during which the taxpayer is
involved in a collection due process appeal, litigation, or a pending
offer in compromise or installment agreement. As a result, fig. 1 includes
taxes that are for tax periods from more than 10 years ago.
Figure 1: IHP Recipients with Unpaid Federal Taxes (by Tax Year) as of
September 30, 2005
Although $700 million in unpaid taxes owed by IHP participants as of
September 30, 2005, is a substantial amount, this amount understates the
full extent of unpaid federal taxes for these individuals. To avoid
overestimating the amount owed, we limited our scope to federal tax debts
that were affirmed by either the individual or a tax court for tax periods
prior to 2005. We did not include any debts incurred during the most
current tax year to avoid including any tax debts that were assessed
subsequent to the hurricanes. We also purposely excluded recently assessed
tax debts that appear as unpaid taxes because they may involve matters
that will be routinely resolved between the taxpayer and IRS. We further
excluded tax debts of less than $100 because they are insignificant for
the purpose of determining the extent of taxes owed.
Our estimate is also likely to be understated because the IRS tax database
we used to derive our estimate reflects only the amount of unpaid taxes
either reported by an individual or organization on a tax return or
assessed by IRS through its various enforcement programs. The IRS database
does not reflect amounts owed by organizations and individuals that have
not filed tax returns and for which IRS has not assessed tax amounts due.
For example, during our audit, we identified instances from our case
studies in which individuals failed to file tax returns for a particular
tax period and IRS had not assessed taxes for these tax periods.
Consequently, while these individuals may have additional unpaid taxes,
they were listed in IRS records as having no unpaid taxes for that period.
Further, our analysis did not attempt to account for individuals who
purposely underreported income and were not specifically identified by IRS
as owing the additional taxes. According to IRS, underreporting of income
accounted for more than 80 percent of the estimated $345 billion annual
gross tax gap.8
8According to IRS, nonfilers and underpayment of taxes constituted the
rest of the gross tax gap.
Federal law and regulations do not prohibit IHP applicants that owe tax
debts from receiving disaster assistance from the federal government. In
fact, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) policy is to allow disaster
loans to individuals with federal tax debts.9 Consistent with this policy,
FEMA officials stated that they do not screen disaster applicants for tax
debts. FEMA officials stated that there is no law or regulation that
requires FEMA to screen IHP applicants prior to providing disaster
assistance.
Examples of IHP Recipients Involved in Abusive and
Criminal Activity Related to Federal Tax System
The five IHP recipients with which we chose to illustrate abusive and
criminal activity related to the federal tax system had tax debts ranging
from about $400,000 to over $2 million. A number of these individuals had
a history of failing to file tax returns for several years. Two IHP
recipients also attempted to transfer property to avoid IRS seizure. Table
1 highlights the five cases of IHP recipients we investigated with unpaid
taxes.
Table 1: Descriptions of Five IHP Recipients with Unpaid Federal Taxes
Investigated for Possible Abusive and Criminal Activity
Unpaid tax
Case Nature of work amounta Comments
1 Doctor $2 million o FEMA recipient received several
thousand dollars in disaster assistance.
o FEMA recipient has a history of
repeated failures to pay income tax and
filing late returns, spanning back to
the 1980s.
o FEMA recipient's return in the early
2000s reported income of several hundred
thousand dollars, but recipient did not
report income in recent years.
o Recipient had unreported gambling
winnings totaling over a quarter of a
million dollars at the same time that
the recipient owed federal taxes.
o FEMA recipient was charged with
illegally dispensing a controlled
substance.
2 Doctor $2 million o FEMA recipient received IHP assistance
of several thousand dollars.
o FEMA recipient did not file required
tax returns for several years.
o FEMA recipient said the reason for not
filing returns was that the recipient
was overwhelmed with the filing process
and decided to wait for IRS to seek the
returns.
o IRS filed several tax liens against
recipient's property.
3 Contractor $500,000 o FEMA recipient received IHP assistance
of several thousand dollars.
o FEMA recipient has over a 10-year
history of tax problems.
o While owing taxes, FEMA recipient
earned compensation up to $300,000 prior
to the hurricane.
o FEMA recipient purchased numerous
vehicles, including a luxury vehicle.
o IRS filed multiple tax liens against
taxpayer's assets.
4 Attorney $400,000 o FEMA recipient received over a
thousand dollars in disaster assistance.
o FEMA recipient has a history of
repeated noncompliance with paying
federal individual and employer payroll
taxes,b spanning back to the late 1980s
and did not file tax returns for several
years.
o Recipient transferred ownership of a
large quantity of stock to a family
member while IRS was taking collection
actions against the recipient.
o IRS filed tax liens against recipient.
5 Oil and gas $400,000 o FEMA recipient received several
entrepreneur thousand dollars in disaster assistance.
o FEMA recipient's annual income prior
to the hurricane was from $50,000 to
$100,000.
o FEMA recipient has a history of
repeated federal tax noncompliance
dating back to the early 1990s.
o FEMA recipient forged a third party's
signature to illegally transfer land to
avoid IRS seizure.
Source: GAO's analysis of IRS records, IHP assistance payments, and other
records.
aRounded dollar amount of unpaid federal taxes as of September 30, 2005.
bPayroll taxes include employee's income taxes and Social Security and
Medicare taxes withheld from an employee's paycheck. Employers are to
collect and remit these taxes to the federal government. Employers are
deemed to have a fiduciary responsibility to hold withheld funds "in
trust" for the federal government until the employer makes a federal tax
deposit in that amount. The employer's owners or officers may be held
personally liable for these amounts and may be subject to civil and
criminal penalties for failure to remit payroll taxes.
9 OMB Circular No. A-129, Policies for Federal Credit Programs and Non-Tax
Receivables (Revised November 2000).
Our previous forensic audits and related investigations found significant
control weaknesses in FEMA's disaster relief program that have left the
government vulnerable to significant fraud, waste, and abuse. Our review
of FEMA data found that in several of these cases, the IHP recipient
received disaster assistance without FEMA inspection of the claimed
damaged property or after the inspection actually found no damage to the
property. As a result, FEMA was at risk of paying disaster assistance to
recipients that were not entitled to such benefits. For these five cases,
we did not make a determination of potential fraud related to the disaster
relief program because it was not included in the scope of this work.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation
On October 26, 2007, we received written comments on a draft of this
report from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In its written
comments, DHS stated that FEMA's administration of disaster assistance
programs to victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita with tax liabilities
was consistent with federal law and policy. As recognized in our draft
report, DHS is not required to screen applicants for tax debts. We have
reprinted DHS's written comments in their entirety in the enclosure. In
addition, IRS and DHS provided technical comments on the draft report,
which we incorporated as appropriate.
- - - - -
As agreed with your offices, unless you publicly release its contents
earlier we plan no further distribution of this report until 30 days from
its date. At that time, we will send copies of this report to the
Secretary of Homeland Security and the Acting Commissioner of Internal
Revenue. We will make copies available to others upon request. In
addition, the report will be available at no charge on the GAO Web site at
[11]http://www.gao.gov .
Please contact me at (202) 512-6722 or [email protected] if you have any
questions concerning this report. Contact points for our Offices of
Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page
of this report.
Gregory D. Kutz
Managing Director
Forensic Audits and Special Investigation
Enclosure - 1
Comments from the Department of Homeland Security
Related GAO Products
Tax Compliance: Thousands of Organizations Exempt from Federal Income Tax
Owe Nearly $1 Billion in Payroll and Other Taxes. GAO-07-1090T.
Washington, D.C.: July 24, 2007.
Tax Compliance: Thousands of Organizations Exempt from Federal Income Tax
Owe Nearly $1 Billion in Payroll and Other Taxes. GAO-07-563. Washington,
D.C.: June 29, 2007.
Tax Compliance: Thousands of Federal Contractors Abuse the Federal Tax
System. [12]GAO-07-742T . Washington, D.C.: April 19, 2007.
Medicare: Thousands of Medicare Part B Providers Abuse the Federal Tax
System. [13]GAO-07-587T . Washington, D.C.: March 20, 2007.
Internal Revenue Service: Procedural Changes Could Enhance Tax
Collections. GAO-07-26. Washington, D.C.: November 15, 2006.
Tax Debt: Some Combined Federal Campaign Charities Owe Payroll and Other
Federal Taxes. [14]GAO-06-887 . Washington, D.C.: July 28, 2006.
Tax Debt: Some Combined Federal Campaign Charities Owe Payroll and Other
Federal Taxes. [15]GAO-06-755T . Washington, D.C.: May 25, 2006.
Financial Management: Thousands of GSA Contractors Abuse the Federal Tax
System. GAO-06-492T. Washington, D.C.: March 14, 2006.
Financial Management: Thousands of Civilian Agency Contractors Abuse the
Federal Tax System with Little Consequence. [16]GAO-05-683T . Washington,
D.C.: June 16, 2005.
Financial Management: Thousands of Civilian Agency Contractors Abuse the
Federal Tax System with Little Consequence. [17]GAO-05-637 . Washington,
D.C.: June 16, 2005.
Financial Management: Some DOD Contractors Abuse the Federal Tax System
with Little Consequence. [18]GAO-04-414T . Washington, D.C.: February 12,
2004.
Financial Management: Some DOD Contractors Abuse the Federal Tax System
with Little Consequence. [19]GAO-04-95 . Washington, D.C.: February 12,
2004.
(192258)
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