The Internal Revenue Service (”IRS”) recently reported an increase in the number of whistleblower complaints it has received under the new IRS Whistleblower Law that was enacted in 2006. The IRS Whistleblower Law enables private individuals to report: (1) underpayments of tax; and (2) persons otherwise guilty of violating the internal revenue laws. The IRS Whistleblower Law, like the False Claims Act, rewards whistleblowers who report allegations to the government. In general, a whistleblower can receive an award of between 15% to 30% of the collected proceeds (including penalties, interest, additions to tax and additional amounts).
The IRS recently reported to Congress that it received 1,246 whistleblower claims in 2008. To meet this increased volume of claims, the staff of the IRS’ Whistleblower Office grew in 2008 from 4 to 14, including 10 analysts with substantial experience in a wide variety of IRS compliance programs.
A copy of the 2009 IRS Report to Congress can be found on the Internet at http://www.irs.gov/pub/whistleblower/annual_report_to_congress_september_2009.pdf
