Surprise! Your Tax Dollars Are Being Wasted!

A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that there is (gasp) waste in government spending.

Over a fifteen month period from 2005 to 2006, the GAO found that nearly 41% of credit card purchases – in the amount of $14 billion – were not billed out according to procedure. For purchases over $2,500, 48% were either not authorized or the items were improperly received.

In one random sample of goods, the GAO found that agencies could not account for nearly two-thirds of all purchases including iPods, digital cameras and laptops.

This unchecked spending brings to mind a conversation that I had with a government employee who explained that his “toys” from work were the result of trying to meet budget. Apparently, according to my source, if an agency does not match its spending as outlined in the budget, the budget will be trimmed the following year. To combat this, the agency would practically go shopping at the end of the fiscal year – merely to preserve the budget.

It’s not just the agencies that are spending money like wildfire. Investigators found that individual federal employees double billed for some goods and expensed such items as internet dating – these expenses were not even challenged by supervisors. The lack of enforcement from within the system was deemed “unacceptably high.”

So, as you’re writing out that tax check this season, take solace in the fact that you might be buying an iPod – or a date – for a federal employee…

Kelly Phillips Erb

Kelly Phillips Erb is a tax attorney, tax writer, and podcaster.

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