THOMPSON, KELLY’S IRS WHISTLEBLOWER ACT PASSES U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Washington, D.C. - On Monday, Ranking Member of the Ways & Means Tax Policy Subcommittee Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA-04) and Chairman of the Tax Policy Subcommittee Rep. Mike Kelly's (R-PA-16) IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives with a X to X vote.

The bill would make commonsense reforms to the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Whistleblower Awards Program. The IRS' whistleblower program has enabled the agency to collect more than $7.5 billion from individuals and businesses caught dodging taxes.

"Whistleblowers often face uncertainty and long delays. And in some cases, they face real personal and professional risk just for coming forward. We need to be doing everything we can to fix those problems," said Rep. Thompson. "The IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act will support the IRS's crackdown on tax cheats and protect the brave whistleblowers who are helping to make our tax system more fair. I look forward to continuing my work with Rep. Kelly to get this through the Senate and signed into law."

"Today's vote is a win for the American taxpayer and the American worker," said Rep. Kelly. "Our commonsense, bipartisan legislation ensures the integrity of our Nation's tax laws. When individuals come forward to expose wrongdoing by tax cheats and fraudsters, they help ensure our voluntary tax system remains fair for all Americans. Strengthening this program is a smart way to recover unpaid taxes while improving efficiency and accountability across the system."

BACKGROUND

The IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act includes six measures to bolster the successful program, ensure fairness and protect the whistleblowers who come forward. 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;
• Establish a presumption of anonymity for whistleblowers before the court;
• Provide that interest be paid to awardees if the whistleblower award has not been paid within one year of the IRS collecting all proceeds;
• Bring the tax treatment of attorney's fees into line with other whistleblower programs; and
• Improve the program's annual report to Congress to help tax writers identify areas in most need of attention.

The Thompson-Kelly legislation is supported by the National Whistleblower Center.

You can find the bill text here and a section-by-section summary here.