Tax Whistleblowers

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Washington, D.C. November 15, 2017. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) has put forth two amendments to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Bill that are important to whistleblowers.

The major amendment addresses an issue that has been the subject of previous posts, defining the term “collected proceeds” in I.R.C. section 7623(b).  The IRS and Department of Justice have taken the position whistleblowers who report criminal tax frauds, such as the numerous crimes committed by the largest Swiss banks, cannot obtain a whistleblower reward. They have argued that whistleblower rewards should not be paid on any criminal fines.
Continue Reading Proposed Grassley Amendment Important for Whistleblowers

The Justice Department is appealing the Tax Court’s decision in Whistleblower 21276-13W v. Commissioner and Whistleblower 21277-13W v. Commissioner, 147 T.C. No. 4 (2016). This case arose after two courageous whistleblowers stood up to the Swiss banks and exposed how the banks helped U.S. millionaires and billionaires illegally evade taxes.  These whistleblowers won a hard fought victory in Tax Court—which ruled that whistleblowers who report criminal violations of the tax laws are fully protected under the IRS whistleblower program.

Prior to this decision, there was ambiguity about whether “collected proceeds” from criminal violations would be included in calculating IRS whistleblower rewards. The consequences of this Tax Court decision on the issue are massive. The largest tax fraud cases inevitably include criminal fines and penalties, and are often primarily criminal in nature. If criminal violations were excluded from the whistleblower reward calculation, the IRS program would not incentivize those whistleblowers with the most important information about the largest tax evasion schemes to report violations.…

Continue Reading DOJ’s Decision to Appeal Tax Whistleblower Case Will Weaken the Federal Government’s Ability to Detect Fraud

In a press release issued today, attorneys for a husband and wife tax fraud whistleblowers, expressed optimism that President Trump’s pick for Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin would show support for the IRS Whistleblower Office by not appealing a the Tax Court’s decision in Whistleblower 21276-13W v. CIR (147 TC 4).

The full press release is reprinted below: …
Continue Reading IRS Whistleblower Advocates Hopeful New Administration Upholds “Collected Proceeds” Tax Court Decision

January 19th, 2017, today, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing to consider President-Elect Trump’s pick for the Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin. The National Whistleblower Center asked its supporters to insist that the Senators of the Finance Committee use the hearing to find out whether or not Mr. Mnuchin was committed to protecting whistleblowers who report to the IRS.
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Continue Reading Trump Treasury Nominee Answers on Tax Whistleblower Issue

In 2012, Bradley Birkenfeld made history when he obtained the largest whistleblower reward ever given to an individual whistleblower in the twenty-five year history of federal qui tam or whistleblower reward laws, for reporting IRS Tax Fraud. …
Continue Reading UBS Whistleblower Gives Behind the Scenes Look into Swiss Bank Secrecy

The  following is from the National Whistleblower Center:

On August 3, 2016 the U.S. Tax Court ruled that tax whistleblowers were entitled to a reward based on monies collected in criminal fines and penalties. This landmark decision reversed the position of the Department of Treasury that severely limited the “collected proceeds” upon which a whistleblower reward could be based.
Continue Reading Four-Year Campaign Results In Historic-Win For Tax Whistleblowers

The National Whistleblower Center’s Senior Policy Analyst Dean Zerbe was on a recent panel in Miami with Lee Martin, Director of the IRS Whistleblower Office – that provided whistleblowers a useful guide on the good and the bad in terms of filing a successful tax whistleblower complaint with the IRS. …
Continue Reading Tips on Making a Credible IRS Whistleblower Claim

In response to the Panama Papers — the more than ten million leaked documents from the Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, that exposed illicit financial activity and tax evasion through the use of anonymous offshore shell companies — the White House announced on May 6th that it would end the use of anonymous corporations in the United States and require disclosure of beneficial owners when foreigners deposit money or buy assets in the United States.

The White House announced that it plans to:…
Continue Reading Obama Administration Proposes Oversight Reform in Response to Panama Papers

On Wednesday, April 20, the Senate Finance Committee approved provisions put forward by Sen. Chuck Grassley to fix IRS whistleblower treatment and improve taxpayer rights.

“The IRS needs to put out the welcome mat for tax fraud whistleblowers, not treat them like skunks at a picnic,” Grassley said. …
Continue Reading Grassley’s Efforts to Improve Treatment of IRS Whistleblowers Approved