Archive

IRS Releases Encouraging Whistleblower Report for 2016

The Internal Revenue Service recently released its annual report to Congress regarding its whistleblower program and the results are encouraging, with hope for an even better 2017. Since 2007, whistleblowers have helped the IRS collect more than $3.4 billion in tax revenue and have been awarded more than $465 million for their efforts. Coming off of a strong 2015 in which the IRS awarded 99 whistleblowers a...

IRS Targets Pizza Pro President’s Pension Plunder

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team The IRS often, and often unfairly, gets a bad rap, frequently for doing exactly what it exists to do: collect taxes and catch those who try to cheat their way out of paying their fair share. A recent U.S. Tax Court decision, in a case brought by the IRS against Arkansas restaurant equipment licensing company Pizza Pro, demonstrates the essential role the Service plays in...

Tax Haven Weather Forecast: More Sunshine to Come

By Max Voldman Despite the UK’s  reputation for rain, British legislators are trying expose tax havens to sunshine. The United Kingdom’s House of Commons (Britain’s lower legislative body) unanimously approved a bill that would force multinational corporations to publicly report where they make their money and how much tax they pay (so called country-by-country reporting). If this were to become law, it...

Record Period for Whistleblower Recoveries

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team We are supposed to be in the lazy days of summer.  But it has been anything but in the world of whistleblower recoveries under the False Claims Act.  This is the statute that allows whistleblowers to (i) bring a lawsuit on the government’s behalf for any fraud or misconduct that caused the government to suffer a financial loss, and (ii) obtain between 15 and 30 percent of...

IRS Whistleblower Report to Congress Signals a Brighter Future

By Marlene Koury (published in AccountingWEB) The IRS Whistleblower Office recently released its annual report to Congress reflecting a pretty good year, with hope for a better year to come.  The IRS reported that in fiscal year 2015, it made 99 awards to whistleblowers totaling more than $103 million – more than double the amount of money it awarded whistleblowers in the previous year. The apparent success...

Tax Enforcement Spotlight – Bank Julius Baer

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team This Tax Enforcement Spotlight features Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd. On Thursday, the Switzerland based financial institution agreed to pay a total of $547 million as part of a deferred prosecution agreement to settle criminal charges that the bank conspired to help many of its U.S. taxpayer-clients hide from the IRS billions of dollars in offshore accounts and evade U.S. taxes...

GAO Finds Widespread Problems In The IRS Whistleblower Program

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Since 2011, the IRS whistleblower office has collected almost two billion in unpaid taxes and has awarded over $315 million to whistleblowers.  The apparent success of the program, however, is tempered by widespread problems in the timeliness and accuracy of providing awards, the lack of clear communication and claim review procedures, and a failure to provide protections...

In Their Own Words — Grassley

-- "We all need to make sure the IRS puts out a welcome mat for whistleblowers."

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), on yesterday's report from the non-partisan Government Accountability Office finding major failings in the IRS Whistleblower Program and the need for the IRS to "step[] up its work."  Click here for more.

In Their Own Words -- Burns

-- “THE AGENCY IS BUREAUCRATIC, MYOPIC, AND NOT LEVERAGING WHISTLEBLOWER INFORMATION AND PRIVATE LEGAL RESOURCES TO ACHIEVE MISSION SUCCESS.”

Patrick Burns of Taxpayers Against Fraud discussing the IRS whistleblower program.

IRS Releases Another Report on Whistleblower Program

By Jason Enzler The Internal Revenue Service just released its annual report to Congress regarding its whistleblower program – and it reveals a program that at first blush is just as disappointing as it was last year.  In fact, a comparison of the two years suggests that the IRS whistleblower program may even have become less effective than it was previously. For example, in FY 2013, the IRS received over...