Whistleblower advocates are calling on members of Congress to include the IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act as a part of the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, the large bipartisan tax bill currently being negotiated in Congress.
National Whistleblower Center (NWC) sent a letter to Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee urging him to support the inclusion of the whistleblower reform bill.
“Despite returning billions of dollars to the pockets of American taxpayers, IRS whistleblowers continue to face unnecessary hurdles that would be addressed by the bill,” NWC’s letter states. “An IRS report revealed that the average time to process a whistleblower case is over 11 years. These debilitating delays undermine the efficacy of the IRS program.”
According to NWC’s letter, “H.R. 7024 may be the last opportunity to get S. 625 attached to a tax bill this
year.” This bill is too important to remain on the sidelines, and it is already long overdue.
Introduced in March 2023, the IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act aims to address the delays and other issues plaguing the program.
NWC Chairman of the Board Stephen M. Kohn called for the passage of the bill in an article for Bloomberg Tax. “The bill’s technical reforms offered by the bill are four key provisions that will help make the program stronger,” he wrote.
In the article, Kohn outlines these four key provisions:
- The imposition of interest on delayed awards
- The removal of budget sequestration for whistleblower awards
- The ending of double taxation of attorney fees
- The institution of de novo review in award case appeals.
“Although these reforms are technical and non-controversial, they’re essential to the proper functioning of the IRS Whistleblower Program,” Kohn explains.
NWC has published an Action Alert allowing whistleblower supporters to write to Congress calling for the passage of the IRS Whistleblower Improvement Act.
“A strong IRS Whistleblower Program is key to closing down the tax gap and holding tax cheats accountable,” NWC’s letter states. “The IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act goes a long way in making this possible.”
Join NWC in Taking Action:
Further Reading:
IRS Whistleblower Program Must Drop Fees, Add Interest to Thrive
Bipartisan Bill Offers Critically-Needed Reforms to IRS Whistleblower Program