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The Inspector General of the IRS issues a Final Audit Report

The Inspector General of the IRS has issued a Final Audit Report in August 2009.

The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 amended the Internal Revenue 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. The IRS has seen significant growth in claims since the passage of this law with claims in Calendar Year 2008 alleging more than $65 billion in underreported income. However, without effective control over and timely processing of these claims, the success of the IRS Whistleblower Program could be diminished. .....

... Since standup, the Whistleblower Office has initiated a number of actions in an attempt to improve on the prior Informant Rewards Program which it replaced. However, the IRS did not have an effective inventory control system or adequate procedures and processes at the time of our review. To mitigate the limitations of its prior inventory control system, management relied on multiple systems ....

.... Management has been in the process of developing and implementing a new inventory system for approximately 2 years and is in the process of transferring its 7623(b) claims inventory to this new system. Nonetheless, without effective procedures and processes to ensure timely, accurate input of case information into this system, the problems we noted with its inventory controls may continue to exist. In addition, timeliness standards and a process to monitor whether claims are worked timely had not been established.

....Legislation is needed to ensure that informants are protected against retaliation by their employers and to provide specific relief to informants who are retaliated against.

Download the report here