On May 20, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the nomination of Billy Long, President Trump’s nominee for Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner. During the hearing, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), a longtime Congressional champion of whistleblower rights, asked Long about his support for the IRS’s hugely important whistleblower program.
“[The] IRS Whistleblower Program incentivizes those with knowledge of high-dollar tax evasion to alert the IRS, and this deals mostly with corporations. To date, this program has brought in over $6 billion to the Treasury and could raise billions more if used by the IRS to its fullest extent. Should you be confirmed, can I count on you to be supportive of the whistleblower program and work to ensure it’s used to its full potential?” Grassley asked.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of daylight between Charles Grassley and Billy Long on that issue. And you were one of the very first senators that allowed me to come into your office and visit. And we had a robust discussion on whistleblowers, and I’m right there with you, Senator,” Long responded.
Through the IRS Whistleblower Program, qualified whistleblowers, individuals who voluntarily provide original information that leads to a successful IRS action, are eligible to receive monetary awards of 15-30% of the money collected thanks to their disclosure.
The program, which revolutionized tax enforcement by incentivizing insiders to come forward and disclose hard-to-detect misconduct, has struggled in recent years as delays have grown and payouts to whistleblowers have dropped. While recent administrative reforms have strengthened the program, advocates believe that it has even more potential.
While advocates have praised the reform efforts of IRS Whistleblower Office Director John Hinman and his staff, including a newly announced operating plan, they have also been calling for the passage of the bipartisan IRS Whistleblower Improvement Act. Introduced in the last session of Congress by Senators Grassley and Wyden (D-OR) the bill makes a number of reforms to the program. In January, Senators Wyden and Mike Crapo (R-ID) unveiled a discussion draft of a bipartisan bill offering reforms to the IRS, including the provisions previously found in the IRS Whistleblower Improvement Act.
National Whistleblower Center has set up an Action Alert allowing individuals to write to their members of Congress urging them to pass the reforms to strengthen the IRS Whistleblower Program.
Join NWC in Taking Action:
Further Reading:
Grassley Secures IRS Nominee’s Support for Key Whistleblower Program, Protections for Taxpayer Data
