Tax Whistleblower Blog

Failed Whistleblower Suit for Additional Reward

Another Tax Whistleblower had his hopes dashed by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, when it was decided by the Courts to dismiss the tax informant’s complaint to obtain an additional reward from the IRS, above amounts she already received, for providing the IRS information about her ex-husband’s tax law violations. The Courts held that the tax informant failed to show that the IRS was violating any agreement to pay her an additional award. The Courts further held that the facts that IRS sent the tax informant a copy of Publication 733 before she completed the award application, which told her she might receive an additional award in letters accompanying her original awards, and may have ultimately recovered more taxes than amounts on which it based original awards weren’t enough to show that the IRS ever actually agreed to any fixed additional award. (Cambridge v. U.S., CA, Fed Cir, 103 AFTR 2d ¶2009-582 )

This reward is based on the old law, which did not allow the Tax Whistleblower to go to the U.S. Tax Court wherein a Whistleblower can challenge the amount of the reward regardless of whether there is an agreement in place or not.