IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act

This Act may be cited as the IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act.

Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed in terms of an amendment to a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or other provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

For purposes of this Act, the term Secretary means the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary's delegate.

The table of contents of this Act is as follows:

Paragraph (4) of section 7623(b) is amended—

(1) by striking appealed to and inserting reviewed by, and

(2) by adding at the end the following: Any review by the Tax Court under the preceding sentence shall be de novo and shall be based on the administrative record established at the time of the original determination and any additional newly discovered or previously unavailable evidence..

The heading of paragraph (4) of section 7623(b) is amended by striking Appeal and inserting Review.

The amendments made by this section shall apply to petitions under section 7623(b)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which are pending on, or filed on or after, the date of the enactment of this Act.

Paragraph (6) of section 7623(b) is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

Notwithstanding sections 7458 and 7461, a whistleblower may elect to proceed anonymously before the Tax Court for all proceedings under this section absent a finding by the Tax Court that a societal interest exists for disclosing the whistleblower’s identity which exceeds the potential harm disclosure could cause to the whistleblower.

.

The amendments made by this section shall apply to petitions under section 7623(b)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which are pending on, or filed on or after, the date of the enactment of this Act.

Section 406(c) of division A of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 is amended by striking such use, in paragraph (1) and inserting such use (which shall include a list and descriptions of the top tax avoidance schemes, not to exceed 10, disclosed by whistleblowers during such year),.

The amendments made by this section shall apply to reports for fiscal years ending after the enactment of this Act.

Section 7623(b) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

If the Secretary has not provided notice to an individual described in paragraph (1) of a preliminary award recommendation before the applicable date, the amount of any award under this subsection shall include interest from such date at the overpayment rate under section 6621(a).

No interest shall accrue under this paragraph after the date on which the Secretary provides notice to the individual of a preliminary award recommendation.

For purposes of this paragraph, the applicable date is the date that is 12 months after the first date on which—

(i) all of the proceeds resulting from actions subject to the award recommendation have been collected, and

(ii) either—

(I) the statutory period for filing a claim or suit for refund has expired, or

(II) the taxpayers subject to the actions and the Secretary have agreed with finality to the tax or other liabilities for the periods at issue, and either the taxpayers have waived the right to file a claim or suit for refund or any claim or suit for refund has been resolved.

.

The amendments made by this section shall take effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

If, as of the date described in paragraph (1)—

(A) the Secretary has not provided notice to the individual of a preliminary award recommendation as described in paragraph (7)(A) of section 7623(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added by this Act, and

(B) the applicable date provided in paragraph (7)(C) of such section, as so added, has passed,

the applicable date for purposes of such paragraph (7)(C) is the date that is 12 months after the date described in paragraph (1).

Section 62(a)(21)(A)(i) is amended by striking 7623(b) and inserting 7623.

The amendment made by this section shall apply to taxable years ending after the date of the enactment of this Act.