ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
What Kinds Of Fraud Does The IRS Target?
Off-Shore Tax Avoidance Is A Primary IRS Target
How An IRS Whistleblower Case Begins
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) pays rewards to individuals who blow the whistle on corporations and individuals who commit tax fraud. I.R.C. § 7623(b). Rewards generally fall between 15 and 30 percent of what the IRS collects after pursuing a case based on the whistleblower’s information. In fiscal year 2020, the IRS issued over $86 million in awards to 169 whistleblowers. A primary focus of the IRS is offshore tax avoidance schemes that shelter income from U.S. taxation. These schemes also often violate other federal laws, including banking law. See, e.g., Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Act (FBAR) (31 U.S.C. § 5314); Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) (26 U.S.C. § 1471 et seq.). Evans Law Firm, Inc. represents individuals with credible information of offshore tax avoidance schemes or other tax fraud and can help you submit information of tax fraud and all related violations of the law to the government and present your evidence with a goal toward a reward if the IRS recovers. If you have credible information of tax fraud, call us today at (415)441-8669. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
Targeting Off-Shore Tax Avoidance
An offshore tax avoidance scheme is a structure which is set up by a business or individual for the sole purpose of reducing income tax. A common practice in such schemes is for the taxpayer to deposit money into a separate account in a foreign bank. The taxpayer is trying to hide income from taxation by the IRS through these offshore accounts. Such schemes can lead to a whole series of tax and banking law violations: failing to disclose offshore assets, failing to report income, failing to pay taxes on that income and submitting false offshore compliance filings to the IRS. Each of these acts is a crime and the amount of money lost to the IRS in such schemes amounts to billions annually. The IRS has been good at utilizing information from tax whistleblowers in successfully pursuing illegal off-shore accounts and provided significant awards, including the largest ever paid, $104 million for blowing the whistle on tax fraud by a leading global bank.
How An IRS Whistleblower Case Begins
Any IRS whistleblower case begins with an application to the Whistleblower Office of the IRS. Our whistleblower attorneys will assist you in completion of the application and in assembling your documentation regarding any alleged fraud. The IRS requires that the information is specific, supported, and credible; not a guess. Typically, insiders/employees are the individuals most likely to have credible information of fraud such as offshore tax avoidance and undeclared foreign bank accounts. Those employees are protected from retaliation by their employers which can include demotion, re-assignment, suspension, or termination. Despite the legal protection, employer retaliation still occurs. The employee whistleblower can fight back, however. Remedies for wrongful employer retaliation include reinstatement, double back pay, interest, and attorneys’ fees and costs for bringing your lawsuit. See 26 U.S.C. § 7623.
Contact Us
Ingrid M. Evans represents individuals with credible, original information of any kind of tax fraud, including offshore tax avoidance measures, and use of foreign corporations and accounts to avoid taxation or the like. Ingrid can be reached at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267). Ingrid also handles whistleblower actions 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.
