Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Whistleblowing for taxes

Now that the high season for taxes is over, this bit of code caught our attention. In December, a new federal tax whistleblower statute took effect. The federal statute, title 26 section 7623 is brief, and interesting. It will award payments of between 15 and 30 percent of the amount the IRS collects as a result of information about tax fraud and underpayments. In cases of corporations, this could become quite lucrative. Using Form 211, a taxpayer can claim their reward. To report the suspected fraud or underpayment, the person can use a form, write a letter, or call. Interestingly, the IRS does not include information about whistleblower rewards on their page, but mentions the possibility of a reward, almost as an afterthought at the end. They have appointed a person to head the Whistleblower Office, but we can't find any more information about the office. The Wall Street Journal reports it is quite a success.
For more tax info, see our taxation page.