Legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), and Mike Thompson (D-CA), to make reforms to the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Whistleblower Awards Program has advanced out of the House Ways and Means Committee.
The legislation, the IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act, passed by unanimous consent and now advances to the floor of the House for consideration. The legislation includes six reforms that will bolster the program, ensure fairness and protect whistleblowers who come forward, lawmakers said.
“Today’s vote is a win for the American taxpayer and the American worker,” Kelly said. “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.”
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 while establishing a presumption of anonymity for whistleblowers before the court and providing that interest paid to awardees if the whistleblower award has not been paid within one year of the IRS collecting all proceeds. The legislation would also bring the tax treatment of attorney’s fees into line with other whistleblower programs and improve the program’s annual report to Congress.
“A strong whistleblower program helps the IRS recoup taxpayer dollars that were lost to tax fraud or tax evasion,” Thompson said. “The IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act will help the IRS crackdown 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.”
The legislation is supported by the National Whistleblower Center.