29: Tax Whistleblowers

Tax fraud is serious business and the IRS is looking for help to crack down on it. Paying IRS whistleblowers a reward is one of the tools the government uses to find and prosecute those cheating on their taxes. And it can be a lucrative business for both the IRS and the whistleblowers as they helped the government recover more than $6 billion in 2020.

Becoming an IRS whistleblower

On this episode of the Taxgirl podcast, Kelly is joined by Gregory Krakower. Gregory is a former senior advisor and counselor for the New York State Attorney General’s office, as well as an adjunct professor at Cardozo Law School where he teaches whistleblower statutes and corporate fraud.

Listen to Kelly and Gregory talk about IRS whistleblowers:

• What is a whistleblower?
• Are whistleblowers protected and rewarded?
• The reward for IRS whistleblowers
• Whistleblowers don’t have to prove fraud but do need information
• What type of information do whistleblowers need to have?
• The motivation behind IRS whistleblowers
• The False Claims Act / Lincoln’s Law
• Qui tam
• Can a whistleblower bring a lawsuit separately?
• One of New York’s biggest whistleblower cases
• Can you sue an accountant for helping a client avoid taxes?
• How long do whistleblower cases take?
• How well has the IRS whistleblower provision worked
• What should potential whistleblowers keep in mind?

More about Kelly Phillips Erb:

Kelly is the creator and host of the new Taxgirl podcast series. Kelly is a practicing tax attorney with considerable experience and knowledge. She works with taxpayers like you every day. One of the things that she does is help folks out of tax jams, and hopefully, keep others from getting into them.

Links mentioned:

Kelly’s Website – Taxgirl

Gregory Krakower - LinkedIn