News from the IRS Whistleblower Office

INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE

The IRS Whistleblower Office pays money to people who blow the whistle on persons who fail to pay the tax that they owe. If the IRS uses information provided by the whistleblower, it can award the whistleblower up to 30 percent of the additional tax, penalty and other amounts it collects.

The law provides for two types of awards. If the taxes, penalties, interest and other amounts in dispute exceed $2 million, and a few other qualifications are met, the IRS will pay 15 percent to 30 percent of the amount collected.

The Secretary of the Treasury reports to Congress each fiscal year on the use of Internal Revenue Code section 7623. The Whistleblower Office Report to Congress (PDF) for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019 was released on January. read more »

Heads could roll at PwC over Isabel dos Santos links

THE GUARDIAN

The global chairman of PwC has warned that heads could roll at the professional services firm over its links to Isabel dos Santos, Africa’s richest woman, who is battling allegations that she obtained her wealth through corruption and nepotism.

Bob Moritz, whose firm advised companies belonging to Dos Santos and her husband across multiple jurisdictions, told the Guardian he was “shocked and disappointed” by recent disclosures about the British-headquartered accounting firm’s work for the daughter of Angola’s former president. read more »

Isabel dos Santos: Africa's richest woman 'ripped off Angola'

BBC

Leaked documents reveal how Africa's richest woman made her fortune through exploiting her own country, and corruption.

Isabel dos Santos got access to lucrative deals involving land, oil, diamonds and telecoms when her father was president of Angola, a southern African country rich in natural resources. read more »

How Boeing’s Responsibility in a Deadly Crash ‘Got Buried’

NEW YORK TIMES

A review by The New York Times of evidence from the 2009 accident, some of it previously confidential, reveals striking parallels with the recent crashes — and resistance by the team of Americans to a full airing of findings that later proved relevant to the Max. read more »