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NWC Files Amicus Brief on IRS Whistleblower Program |
Washington, D.C. November 29, 2012 - On November 5, 2012, the National
Whistleblower Center filed a briefing paper/amicus brief with the
Internal Revenue Service addressing key questions of law governing the
IRS Whistleblower program. The brief, linked here, addresses the issue
of "collected proceeds" under the IRS whistleblower law. The "collected
proceeds" issue impacts hundreds if not thousands of cases in which the
IRS must determine whether a whistleblower is entitled to a reward
based on monies obtained by the U.S. government related to tax
violations.
The brief was co-authored, pro bono, by two experienced whistleblower
lawyers, Dean Zerbe and Stephen Kohn. In a statement issued by the NWC,
Zerbe explained the importance of the briefing paper: "Whistleblowers
are eligible for rewards based on the government recovering ‘collected
proceeds.' A narrow definition of this term will devastate the impact of
this critical whistleblower law and result in a hardship to hundreds
(if not thousands) of whistleblowers who lawfully report tax violations
but who are found ineligible for a reward based on a restrictive and
hyper-technical definition of the term ‘collected proceeds.'
Whistleblowers risk their careers to help detect fraud. They should not
be doubly punished for their good deeds."
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