Archive for July, 2008

Pro se Whistleblower Misses Opportunity to Challenge Sufficiency of Reward

Thursday, July 24th, 2008

  Every once and awhile, a case comes out that reinforces the addage that, if you represent yourself in litigation without an attorney, "You have a fool for a client."  The Court of Federal Claims has dimissed the case of a pro se ("representing himself without an attorney") Whistleblower who desired ...

Congress Uses Tax Whistleblower Reward Program to Reduce Tax Gap

Sunday, July 20th, 2008

When taxpayers underreport their income or fail to file their tax returns the government must spend money to audit taxpayers, to assess the tax, to collect the tax, and to borrow money to cover the lost revenue.  The amount of such noncompliance with the tax laws is called the "Tax Gap" ...

Continuing Update on IRS Targeting of Major Swiss Bank

Friday, July 18th, 2008

In a high-profile investigation, a U.S. federal court approved a “John Doe” summons with respect to U.S. taxpayers who may be using accounts in a major Swiss bank to evade federal income taxes.  The efforts of the IRS to identify the U.S. owners of nearly $20 billion of income socked away ...

Authority to Determine and Issue Rewards Delegated to the Director of the Whistleblower Office

Wednesday, July 9th, 2008

The IRS has released Delegation Order 25-07, which gives authority to the Director of the Whistleblower Office to determine and issue rewards under the Tax Whistleblower Reward Program.  Stephen A. Whitlock is the current Director.  This delegation order is causing some practicioners to breathe-a-sigh-of-relief.  "Had the authority been retained by the Commissioner or another ...

The Internal Revenue Service continues to Take the High Road

Wednesday, July 9th, 2008

Certainly a title like this could be the subject of criticism and skepticism.  However, think about it.  The IRS has help….lots of it.    The financial environment is constantly changing and is currently moving towards honesty and transparency.  Public corporations governed by the SEC are subject to new reporting requirements pursuant to ...