Is the IRS Systemically Averse to Whistleblowers?
Since the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) instituted a new whistleblower program in 2006, only one award has been made to a whistleblower, according to Mike Hudson from iWatch News. In yesterday’s article, “Red tape, old guard slow whistleblowing on corporate tax cheats,” Hudson explains why the IRS has been so disinclined to give monetary awards to whistleblowers. The primary reason, it seems, is a bureaucratic avoidance to receive help from whistleblowers in the IRS.
A law passed in 2006 requires the IRS to pay a reward of 15 to 30 percent for whistleblowers who report cases of unpaid taxes totaling at least $2 million. However, the lone person to receive an award under the new program is an “accountant of a Fortune 500 firm.” The only reason we know of this award is because attorney Eric Young issued a press release announcing his client’s award of $4.5 million for reporting approximately $20 million in unpaid taxes. The lack of announcement by the IRS may underscore their reluctance to work with whistleblowers.
However, an aversion to whistleblowers may not be agency-wide. The IRS Whistleblower Office “is widely praised by attorneys representing whistleblowers.” Dean Zerbe, NWC Special Counsel, agreed. “The Whistleblower Office is great,” said Zerbe. “But you obviously have people in the IRS and Treasury who, instead of trying to make this program work, wake up in the morning trying to put sand in the gears.”
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