Tax Break for Whistleblowers? PRSpin UnSpun: IRS Edition
August 10, 2014
Accounting Today states that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has expanded its awards to whistleblowers, allowing tipsters to claim a potentially greater share of the proceeds the IRS collects on extra tax revenue.
The final regulations released Thursday provide guidance for the whistleblower award program for information relating to detecting underpayments of tax or violations of tax laws, under Section 7623 of the Tax Code. The regulations provide guidance on submitting information regarding underpayments of tax or violations of the tax laws and filing claims for an award, along with the administrative proceedings applicable to claims for whistleblower awards. The regulations also provide guidance on the determination and payment of awards, and provide definitions of some key terms used in Section 7623.
Well that certainly is generous, isn’t it? I mean the government asks the people help them do their jobs, collects a settlement, gives the whistleblower a portion decided upon arbitrarily (by the same people in the government who couldn’t figure out there was a fraud happening) only to take roughly 1/2 back in the form of taxes. The government’s double dipping when it comes to whistleblowers is inconsistent and contradictory language to actions.
Generally, Section 7623(b) provides that qualifying whistleblowers will receive an award of at least 15 percent, but not more than 30 percent, of the collected proceeds resulting from the action on which the Treasury proceeded, based on the information provided to the IRS by the whistleblower.
And we know from reading here whistleblowers “almost never” are awarded the full amount (25-30%) and the DOJ was unwilling “not prepared” to discuss the whistleblower criteria for determining payouts with any transparency. So before we go patting the IRS on their backs for this new tax break (on something that shouldn’t be taxed in the first place) let’s remember the language used:
“allowing tipster to claim potentially greater share…”
Potentially is vague and meant as a manipulation by offering up false hope when we already know that the same manipulation of offering false hope is used when determining the whistleblower’s share of the award. The IRS new tax break (on a settlement that should not be taxed in the first place-as the goverment would have missed out completely on any kind of settlement-had a whistleblower not come forward) is likely just another manipulation which allows the goverment to continue to take credit for other people’s work while demeaning and insulting the whistleblower via manipulations and pathological deception.
Paging Lois Lerner for confirmation of some PRSpin UnSpun-c’mon girl they threw you to the wolves-time to bite back, don’tcha think?
