In the US the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) provides independent oversight of the activities of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). TIGTA aims to ensure economy and efficiency of administration within the IRS and is committed to the prevention and detection of fraud, waste and abuse within the tax administration.
In a recent audit, TIGTA discovered that the awards program conducted by the IRS has kept to federal requirements in respect of limiting expenditures for this type of award and has saved government money by remaining below the required federal limits for incentive payments, aggregate awards and employee remuneration.
TIGTA also discovered however that in the period reviewed from 1 October 2010 to 31 December 2012 more than USD 2.8 million had been given in cash awards, and around 27,000 hours given in time off work, to employees who had in recent years been involved in conduct issues that led to disciplinary action. The US Congress expressed surprise and concern at these figures. The IRS has agreed to recommendations proposed by TIGTA and has drawn up plans to arrive at a method to implement a revised policy by 30 June 2014.
