Washington ? More than a million and a half businesses owe the government about $58 billion in taxes they were supposed to withhold from employees’ paychecks but never forwarded to the IRS, congressional investigators said in a report made public Monday.

The 1.6 million businesses owing income, Social Security and Medicare taxes from their payrolls as of September 30 last year included an accommodation and food service company that had failed to pay $12 million while the owner diverted business money to buy luxury cars, planes and a mansion in a foreign country, the Government Accountability Office found.

A construction company that owed $2.5 million dating back five years was found to be underbidding contracts while using unpaid payroll taxes to subsidize losses.

The $58 billion in unpaid taxes covers 10 years. Beyond that, a statute of limitations generally kicks in and the money is permanently lost.