WASHINGTON, D.C. | October 7, 2022 — The first amicus filed in support of the United States in Bittner v. United States, argues for a “per account” approach to sanctions by the IRS. This highly technical issue connects directly to the Internal Revenue Service Whistleblower Program. The amicus argues that “per-account” sanctions will give rise to larger sanctions and therefore qualify more whistleblowers for awards, a major aspect of the IRS program’s success.
National Whistleblower Center is proud to be at the forefront of advocating for whistleblowers at the Supreme Court. For this brief, the Center partnered with Kohn, Kohn, & Colapinto, LLP, H Street Law, PLLC, and Zerbe, Miller, Fingeret, Frank, & Jadav, LLP.
“This was such a great opportunity for NWC to collaborate with fantastic law firms and submit important concerns to the Court. At NWC we view it as our responsibility to speak up when there are whistleblower issues before the Court. With our expertise we can help ensure that whistleblower issues are considered whenever they are relevant. In the IRS context, sanctions issues go to the heart of whether whistleblowers will find success at the program and whether the public will benefit from effective enforcement actions. This is an amicus worth celebrating!” Said Siri Nelson, Executive Director at National Whistleblower Center.
“We are proud to partner with the National Whistleblower Center, Stephen Kohn and Siri Nelson in our efforts to support and protect whistleblowers. It is our hope that the Supreme Court appreciates the importance of this case and its impact on whistleblowers. A ruling in favor of the ‘per-account’ approach will allow for the growing success of the IRS Whistleblower Program and the ability of law enforcement to detect criminal activity based on whistleblower tips.” Said Rachel Talay, Counsel of Record and Managing Member at H Street, about the brief.
The amicus is an important contribution to a Supreme Court case that will decide whether tax criminals will be taken seriously or solely be held accountable for singular offences, in a minimal manner. Whistleblowers are the key to effective global tax enforcement and protect the United States’ economic and national security interests. Read the brief here today.
NWC Executive Director Siri Nelson is available for comment. For more information, contact NWC at info@whistleblowers.org.
