**GAO-08-31**                      Published: Nov 16, 2007. Publicly Released: Dec 17, 2007.                  

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## Highlights

Since February 2004, GAO has reported that weaknesses in the federal programs and controls that allowed thousands of federal contractors, tax exempt entities, and Medicare providers to receive government money while owing taxes. GAO was asked to determine if these problems exist for entities who receive federal grants or direct assistance and (1) describe the magnitude of taxes owed, (2) provide examples of grant recipients involved in abusive and potentially criminal activity, and (3) assess efforts to prevent delinquent taxpayers from participating in such programs. To perform this work, GAO analyzed data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), three of the largest grant and direct assistance payment systems, representing over $460 billion in payments in fiscal years 2005 and 2006, and the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 tenant-based housing program. GAO investigated 20 cases to provide examples of grant recipients involved in abusive activity.

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## Topics

Government Operations

ContractorsFederal aid to statesFederal fundsFederal grantsFederal lawFederal taxesHousing programsInternal controlsNoncompliancePersonal income taxesProgram managementTax exempt statusTax lawTax nonpayment