WASHINGTON, May 23 (UPI) -- The Internal Revenue Service and three other U.S. government agencies will be closed Friday as employees take a forced unpaid holiday due to spending cuts.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Office of Management and Budget are also set to be closed due to furloughs, CNN Money reported.
The one-day shutdown of the IRS, at a time when many people want to know when to expect their tax refund checks, is likely to have the most noticeable impact, CNN said.
The furloughs are a result of the $85 billion in across-the-board federal spending cuts known as the sequester, triggered by Congress' inability to agree on a deficit reduction plan. About 115,000 federal workers will be on furlough Friday, the biggest closing of government offices since the government shutdown in late 1995 and early 1996.
IRS offices and hotlines will be out of business for four days in this shutdown, since Monday is a federal holiday, Memorial Day. The agency also plans to close on June 14, July 5, July 22, and Aug. 30.
