This piece was reprinted by OpEd News with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.
US Treasury Cites Deficiencies in Whistleblower Protections
On August 20, 2009, the Treasury's Inspector General for Tax Administration issued a report titled, "Deficiencies Exist in the Control and Timely Resolution of Whistleblower Claims," after assessing the IRS' progress in establishing a Whistleblower Program able potentially to recover "billions of dollars in taxes, penalties, and interest based on information provided by informants."
The 2006 Tax Relief and Health Care Act amended the IRS Code "to provide increased awards to individuals for information that leads to the detection and punishment of persons guilty of violating, or conspiring to violate, internal revenue laws." Since the law's passage, tens of billions in unreported income have been disclosed thanks to whistleblower-provided information.
However, legal deficiencies need correcting, including whistleblower protection against employer retaliation. Unmentioned was immunity from US agency or foreign government prosecutions.
The Treasury only recommended legislation "to ensure that informants are protected against retaliation by their employers and to provide relief to informants who are retaliated against....IRS management agreed with all of our recommendations."
Key Facts
Whistleblower.org's Bradley Birkenfeld Fact Sheet covers the following:
(1) Did he serve the public interest?
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
2
2
2
