Americans Are Ratting Out Their Neighbors to the IRS at a Record Pace to Reap Cash Whistleblower Rewards

Ryan J. Donmoyer
Bloomberg
May 6, 2010

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t

Americans seeking reward money are turning in neighbors, clients and employers they suspect of cheating on taxes to the IRS at a rate of nearly eight per day, the director of the agency’s whistleblower program said.

Steve Whitlock, the director, told an audience of about 200 lawyers, investigators and government officials at a Miami Beach conference on offshore banking that his office receives 40 to 50 tips per month alleging tax liability in excess of $2 million. Americans submit another 200 per month alleging smaller violations, he said.

Whitlock said submissions have surged since the enactment in 2006 of a law that requires the Internal Revenue Service to pay awards of between 15 percent and 30 percent in cases where more than $2 million is collected. Prior to the law, both the decision on whether to make an award and the amount of payment were discretionary.

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This article was posted: Thursday, May 6, 2010 at 10:02 am

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