ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Internal Revenue Service Rewards Whistleblowers
Offshore Tax Avoidance Schemes Targeted
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rewards people who provide specific and credible information to the IRS regarding tax scams. The IRS of course chases lots of different tax frauds but in particular aggressively pursues taxpayers who use offshore tax avoidance schemes to avoid US taxes and the promoters who offer such schemes. Whistleblowers are a key component of IRS enforcement efforts. One of the largest rewards ever made ($102 million) was for a whistleblower with information of a company’s offshore tax avoidance scheme. If you have original information of offshore tax fraud or other tax avoidance scheme, call the California and San Francisco whistleblower/qui tam attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. at (415)441-8669, and we can help.
Do not call the IRS directly with any information you have as that may jeopardize your chances to receive an award. Call counsel first. The lawyers at Evans Law Firm know how to advance your case through application, investigation, and administrative and/or judicial review. We will work hard toward securing an award for the information of offshore tax avoidance schemes, abusive tax shelters, or other tax fraud you bring to the government. If you are an employee of the offending corporation, the law protects you against retaliation by your employer and our attorneys can represent you in any litigation over wrongful termination in addition to representing you in your underlying whistleblower case.
Employees and former employees are in a good position to catch offshore tax fraud. Such schemes usually involve one or more of the following:
- Unreported foreign bank accounts and credit card arrangements
- Foreign shell corporations to hide income and assets
- Unreported income earned outside the United States
- Use of foreign trusts and offshore partnerships and LLCs
- Illegal use of International Business Companies (IBCs) to hide income in tax neutral foreign countries
- Offshore private annuities
- Private banking affiliations that assist in hiding income (U.S. and offshore)
- Offshore captive insurance companies
- Related-party loans
If a US taxpayer is using one of these schemes (or more) to avoid US tax and you are the first to report the violation you may be entitled to a reward. Whistleblowers are eligible to 15-30% of the amount collected including penalties and fines.
Contact Us
If you have information regarding offshore tax avoidance schemes, abusive tax shelters, or other tax fraud contact the IRS whistleblower and tax fraud attorneys at the Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our attorneys have experience with complex qui tam or whistleblower cases, including IRS tax avoidance whistleblower cases and tax and securities fraud whistleblowers, and cases against large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We also handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
