Tax Evasion Whistleblower Reward Attorney

Individuals and corporations that evade taxes not only break the law by refusing to pay their fair share, but they also deprive the government of much-needed revenue. Tax evasion costs the government countless billions every year and forces other people and companies to bear a heavier tax burden. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), often in partnership with other governmental entities like the Department of Justice (DOJ), investigates and prosecutes tax evasion.

However, tax fraud is becoming increasingly sophisticated as new schemes are devised to hide money, underpay, and break the law. Meanwhile, the IRS has only so many resources available to catch and prosecute these tax evaders and collect back taxes, penalties, and interest. The IRS whistleblower office relies on the inside information provided by tax whistleblowers who work for the individuals and companies that fail to pay what they owe. IRS whistleblowers can claim a reward and be protected against retaliation under the IRS whistleblower law. Find out how tax evasion whistleblower rewards attorney from Oberheiden P.C. can assist you.

Do You Have Evidence of Tax Evasion?

Under its Whistleblower Program, the IRS has paid over $1 billion to individuals who expose tax evasion and fraud. If you work for a business or individual cheating the government out of tax revenue, you may be able to end this abuse, report tax fraud, and be rewarded for your efforts. These are a few examples of tax evasion that may support a whistleblower awards case:

• Hiding money in offshore tax shelters: Businesses and individuals often park their money in foreign banks to avoid reporting taxable income and paying what they owe. Failing to disclose foreign assets and bank accounts is a similar practice.
• Creating shell accounts: Opening multiple bank accounts to move money around and evade federal taxes is against the law. Fortunately, this activity usually creates a paper trail that enables investigators to stop the fraud.
• Filing false tax returns: The information in tax returns must be as accurate as possible. Deliberately failing to report income accurately, fraudulently claiming tax relief or credits, and falsely claiming exemptions are some examples of tax evasion.
• Not paying or reporting payroll taxes: Employers must legally withhold taxes from their employees and send that money to the government. While some employers negligently fail to do so, many simply keep the money for themselves.
• Committing corporate tax fraud: Corporate tax fraud comes in many forms and usually involves numerous actors inside and outside a company. The whistleblower’s information could possibly uncover evidence that other internal revenue laws, like Sarbanes-Oxley, were violated.
• Committing charitable tax deduction fraud: The law incentivizes charity by allowing companies to give to organizations and secure a tax write-off in exchange. However, this system is regularly abused, for instance, with false statements about the value of donations.
• Committing independent contractor fraud: Independent contractors do not have the same rights as employees, including mandatory tax withholding. Because they are less expensive to hire, many employers illegally misclassify actual employees as contractors.

Put our highly experienced team on your side

Dr. Nick Oberheiden

Founder

Attorney-at-Law

Lynette S. Byrd

Former DOJ Trial Attorney

Partner

Brian J. Kuester

Former U.S. Attorney

Hon. Kevin McCarthy

55th Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives (ret.)

Government Consultant

Mike Pompeo

Of Counsel

Former U.S. Secretary of State

John W. Sellers

Former Senior DOJ Trial Attorney

Linda Julin McNamara

Federal Appeals Attorney

Nicholas B. Johnson

Former Prosecutor

Roger Bach

Former Special Agent (DOJ)

Chris J. Quick

Former Special Agent (FBI & IRS-CI)

Michael S. Koslow

Former Supervisory Special Agent (DOD-OIG)

Ray Yuen

Former Supervisory Special Agent (FBI)

Can I Claim a Whistleblower Reward?

Not everyone who learns of tax evasion can participate in the IRS Whistleblower Program, although they may be able to participate in another program. The following individuals are excluded:

• Department of Treasury employees and those who obtained their information because of their duties as government employees or as employees or taxpayers of federal contractors
• Persons required by law to disclose evidence of tax evasion (or those who are precluded by law from making a protected disclosure)
• Persons who gained their information from others who do not qualify as whistleblowers

Your information needs to meet these additional specifications to qualify you for an IRS whistleblower program process:

• Original: The government or the general public is unaware of the original information. Similarly, the first person to blow the whistle usually receives a reward.
• Significant: The evidence that you have must substantially aid the government’s tax enforcement actions. Your information may either cause a new investigation to be opened or support an existing one.
• Credible and specific: Vague hunches or suspicions that someone is engaging in IRS tax fraud will not suffice for an IRS whistleblower reward. What you have should be material and detailed enough to actively facilitate the enforcement action.
• Excess of $2 million: The sum total of the taxes, interest, criminal fines, and penalties paid by the tax evader must be at least $2 million. This amount can be aggregated over some years.
• Earnings of at least $200,000: If the noncompliant party is a person, his or her annual gross income must exceed $200,000. This amount must be surpassed in at least one of the relevant tax years.

The Amount of the Reward

Most whistleblowers reporting tax fraud can claim between 15% and 30% of the money that the federal government successfully recovers from those engaging in tax evasion. Your tax evasion whistleblower rewards attorney will advocate for the highest possible reward by demonstrating the usefulness of your information to the IRS. Additionally, your attorney will take other important steps, like staying in contact with the government and responding to additional requests for assistance. These are important factors that will affect the value of your reward.

What If I Experience Retaliation?

It is against the law for an employer to discriminate against or harass you because you are a whistleblower. Retaliation can take various forms, such as job termination, denial of a promotion, and pay cuts. We can help you fight back by explaining your rights as a whistleblower and working to ensure they are protected.

Contact Our Tax Evasion Whistleblower Rewards Attorney

Do you have evidence that an individual or business is evading taxes? You can claim a whistleblower reward for exposing their activities. Our law firm is ready to assist you. Talk to our IRS whistleblower attorney at Oberheiden P.C. today to get started on your case, or fill out our contact form.