PSH-23-0055 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

On June 22, 2023, an Administrative Judge (AJ) determined that an Individual's access authorization should not be restored under 10 C.F.R. Part 710. As part of a reinvestigation for his security clearance, in May 2022, the Individual completed a Questionnaire for National Security Positions ( QNSP) in which he reported that he had failed to file his Federal and State tax returns for tax years 2016-2021. In his LOI response, he stated he had not filed his delinquent taxes because he had lost a document that he needed for his 2016 taxes. During the hearing, the Individual testified that by the time he needed to file his 2017 taxes, he had received the missing form and had all the information he needed to file his 2016 tax return, however, he did not file any of his delinquent tax returns until four months prior to the hearing. He asserted that it took him additional time to prepare his tax returns in part due to having a learning disability, and he stated that by the time of his reinvestigation, he mistakenly thought he was only one to three years behind on not filing his taxes. The Individual testified that he was aware that he could have filed a tax extension, but chose not to do so. He also did not submit any corroborating evidence of his disability and admitted he could prepare and file his taxes on his own without assistance. He submitted documentation showing that he had filed his outstanding tax returns for 2016-2021 in February 2023. The AJ found that the Individual had not mitigated the Guideline F concerns because while he had ultimately filed his delinquent tax returns, that mitigating condition was outweighed by other factors. He delayed filing his taxes until very recently after being notified that his security clearance was suspended, his delay was inadequately justified, and he had not acted reasonably under the circumstances. Moreover, his behavior was frequent because he did not file taxes for six consecutive years without any significant change in his behavior or attempt at resolution. Thus, the AJ remained concerned regarding the Individual's future unwillingness to meet his tax obligations, and was not convinced that the Individual's behavior is unlikely to recur. Accordingly, she concluded that the Individual's access authorization should not be restored. (OHA Case No. PSH-23-0055, Balzon)