ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Internal Revenue Service Rewards Whistleblowers
Over $312 Million in IRS Whistleblower Rewards Last Year
IRS Targets Offshore Tax Avoidance
Last year the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) created a task force of agents dedicated exclusively to international tax enforcement as part of the IRS criminal investigations unit. When it comes to offshore tax avoidance schemes whistleblowers with inside information can play a large role in the enforcement effort against such schemes. Whistleblower cases for offshore tax evasion are brought under the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq.), Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) (31 U.S.C. § 5314), and Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) (26 U.S.C. § 1471 et seq.). Whistleblowers receive awards of 15-30% of the amount collected including penalties. I.R.C. § 7623(c). In Fiscal Year 2018, the IRS made 217 awards to whistleblowers totaling over $312 million.
If you have information regarding offshore tax avoidance schemes and violations of FBAR and FATCA, the California and San Francisco whistleblower/qui tam attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. know how to present your evidence to the IRS with the best chance for you to receive an eventual reward. Cases take a long time from application to collection but the wait is worth it; the largest IRS whistleblower reward ever paid ($104 million) involved offshore tax avoidance schemes. If you or a loved one has credible information regarding offshore tax avoidance schemes, violations of foreign bank account reporting laws, abusive tax shelters, or other tax fraud schemes, call the whistleblower/qui tam attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. (415)441-8669, and we can help.
All IRS whistleblower cases start with completing and filing IRS Form 211, the application for Award for Original Information. IRS Form 211 requires a whistleblower to: state the facts pertinent to the alleged violation; explain why the act constitutes a violation of the tax laws; describe how he or she learned of or obtained the information that supports the claim; and describe the amount owed by the alleged violator. Our lawyers can assist whistleblowers in preparing IRS Form 211 and accompanying documents. We know how to advance your case through application, investigation, and administrative and/or judicial review to the end of obtaining an award for your information. Employees are now protected from retaliation by their employers for blowing the whistle on tax fraud and our attorneys can represent you in any wrongful termination action as well as in your underlying whistleblower case. See 26 U.S.C. § 7623.
Contact Us
If you have information regarding offshore tax avoidance schemes, violations of foreign bank account reporting requirements, abusive tax shelters, or other tax fraud contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other 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 whistleblower attorneys also handle cases involving bank fraud under the Financial Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA/FIAFEA), the Commodities Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Program, the Securities and Exchange Commission Whistleblower Program, False Claims Act cases, the FINRA Whistleblower Office and the California False Claims Act. 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.
