The Internal Revenue Service announced yesterday that it paid out $125 million to whistleblowers in 2012 and that was up from just $8 million last year.
The IRS believes it had a lot to do with former banker Bradley Birkenfeld who blew the whistle on a firm who was helping wealthy Americans hide their assets abroad. Birkenfeld received a record $104 million reward for his efforts. However he also received a 40-month prison term in 2009 for his part in UBS’s tax evasion program.
Whistleblowers who provide the IRS evidence of unpaid taxes in excess of $2 million are now entitled to collect up to 30% of the sum recovered. Rewards are smaller for cases involving less than $2 million.
