Press Release
Posted:
Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, Ranking Member of the Ways & Means Subcommittee on Tax Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA-04) and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Tax Rep. Mike Kelly’s (R-PA-16) IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act passed the Ways and Means Committee with a unanimous vote.
The bill would make commonsense reforms to the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Whistleblower Awards Program. The IRS’ whistleblower program has enabled the agency to collect more than $7.5 billion from individuals and businesses caught dodging taxes.
“A strong whistleblower program helps the IRS recoup taxpayer dollars that were lost to tax fraud or tax evasion,” said Rep. Thompson. “The IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act will help the IRS crack down on tax cheats. By strengthening this vital program, it will provide an incentive to anonymously report incidents of tax fraud and improve the IRS’s compliance and enforcement efforts while deterring those who seek to exploit the system. I’m glad that this important bill has now passed through our committee. Next, we will work to get Speaker Johnson to bring it up for a vote by the full Congress.”
"Today's vote is a win for the American taxpayer and the American worker," said Rep. Kelly. "Our commonsense, bipartisan legislation ensures the integrity of our Nation's tax laws. Exposing wrongdoing by tax cheats and fraudsters guarantees our voluntary tax system is fair for all Americans."
BACKGROUND
The IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act includes six measures to bolster the successful program, ensure fairness and protect the whistleblowers who come forward. The legislation would:
Provide for De Novo review in appeals heard by the U.S. Tax Court, allowing for new evidence to be admitted to the record;
Establish a presumption of anonymity for whistleblowers before the court;
- Provide that interest be paid to awardees if the whistleblower award has not been paid within one year of the IRS collecting all proceeds;
- Bring the tax treatment of attorney’s fees into line with other whistleblower programs; and
- Improve the program’s annual report to Congress to help tax writers identify areas in most need of attention.
The Thompson-Kelly legislation is supported by the National Whistleblower Center.
You can find the bill text here and a section-by-section summary here.