Whistleblower Protection Blog
NWC Files Amicus Brief on IRS Whistleblower Program
On November 5, 2012, the National Whistleblower Center filed a briefing paper/amicus brief with the Internal Revenue Service addressing key questions of law governing the IRS Whistleblower program. The brief, linked here, addresses the issue of "collected proceeds" under the IRS whistleblower law. The "collected proceeds" issue impacts hundreds if not thousands of cases in which the IRS must determine whether a whistleblower is entitled to a reward based on monies obtained by the U.S. government related to tax violations.
The brief was co-authored, pro bono, by myself and Dean Zerbe. In a statement issued by the NWC, Zerbe explained the importance of the briefing paper: "Whistleblowers are eligible for rewards based on the government recovering ‘collected proceeds.' A narrow definition of this term will devastate the impact of this critical whistleblower law and result in a hardship to hundreds (if not thousands) of whistleblowers who lawfully report tax violations but who are found ineligible for a reward based on a restrictive and hyper-technical definition of the term ‘collected proceeds.' Whistleblowers risk their careers to help detect fraud. They should not be doubly punished for their good deeds."
http://www.whistleblowersblog.org/admin/trackback/290396
Did anything ever come of the Amicus brief previously submitted in the Joseph Insignia case? The court docket shows that the IRS filed a response, but it doesn't appear that anyone has reported on that case in quite some time. Can you please provide the whistleblower community at large with an update on this potentially precedent-setting case?
The Tax Court has not ruled on the issues presented in the Insignia case. We hope to keep all posted once a decision is reached.