SCOTT SIMON, host: For all the debate in Washington over taxes, it's a wonder how many a government employee could just neglect to pay their taxes on time. This week, the Washington Post reported that federal workers across the nation owed $1 billion in overdue taxes at the end of 2009. That number includes employees of the Office of Government Ethics, who owed a combined $75,000 to the IRS - well, maybe it takes one to know one - and 41 employees of the Obama White House, who were on the hook for 831,000 in back taxes.</s>SCOTT SIMON, host: But delinquent tax payers reside in both parties. Employees of the George W. Bush White House reportedly owed about the same amount in back taxes during the last year of his administration.
This week, the Washington Post reported that federal workers across the nation owed $1 billion in overdue taxes at the end of 2009. Host Scott Simon wonders how a government employee could neglect to pay their taxes on time.