IRS Holds Hearing on Tax Fraud Whistleblower Program
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service held a hearing on Wednesday to receive feedback on new rules and proposals for implementing elements of its whistleblower program, Reuters reported. Some of these proposals include guidelines for whistleblower submissions, criteria for determining the size of whistleblower recoveries, and allowing whistleblowers who die during the process to leave award recovery to heirs. Reuters also reported that attorneys representing tax informants gave IRS officials an earful during the hearing, complaining that whistleblowers have the impression that they “are just not welcome” at the IRS.
The IRS whistleblower program was revised in 2006 to allow whistleblowers to share from 15% to 30% of recoveries of $2 million or more, and established a new whistleblower office. However, IRS whistleblowers have no legal protection against employer retaliation, there are no deadlines by which the IRS must decide the case, and the IRS is not required to communicate with the whistleblower after receiving a tip.
Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who led the 2006 overhaul, wrote in February that “the government should work with whistleblowers to collect taxes that are due under current tax levels...whistleblowers are still left in the dark for years. The IRS needs to do a lot more to give whistleblowers the confidence they need to take the risk of coming forward to expose tax fraud.” He called the proposals, which were released in December, “disappointing.”
The National Whistleblowers Center and other advocates for whistleblower rights requested that the proposed IRS regulations should not be finalized in their current form.
The IRS is reportedly considering the comments submitted regarding the program before it makes a decision.
The Chanler Group, in association with the Hirst Law Group, represents whistleblowers who take action under the False Claims Act to report fraud committed against the federal and state governments. We have years of experience representing whistleblower clients who expose every kind of fraud against the government, including health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud. Read more about our expertise in False Claims Act cases and how you can take action.