The Bush administration gives advice on an interesting get-rich scheme (WSJ)
Blowing the whistle on big-time tax cheats could make some informants wealthy -- as long as they have hard evidence and plenty of patience.
Just over a year ago, President Bush signed legislation authorizing the Internal Revenue Service to pay sharply higher rewards to tipsters in cases involving large amounts of money. In some cases, the reward could be as high as 30% of whatever the IRS collects.
The idea behind the whistleblower law is simple: Congress hopes the lure of much bigger rewards will prompt more informants to offer better tips and help the IRS reduce the nation's $290 billion tax gap, the difference between what the agency collects each year and what it thinks it should be collecting.
Since the law was enacted, the IRS has received some large tips...
To be eligible for an award under the new program, the total amount of taxes, penalties, interest and additional amounts in dispute must exceed $2 million. And if the "allegedly noncompliant person" is an individual, that person's gross income must exceed $200,000 for any taxable year at issue in a claim, according to the IRS notice. Fill out Form 211, which also is available on the IRS Web site. Any claims must be submitted as a statement under penalty of perjury.
