Report: IRS needs to improve whistleblower program

The
audit comes after the IRS whistleblower program has come under some criticism from other government sources as well.

{mosads}Sen.
Chuck Grassley (Iowa), the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee and the
sponsor of the 2006 bill strengthening the whistleblower program, pressed IRS
and Treasury officials last week over what he said was the slow processing of
claims.

The
Government Accountability Office also recommended some improvements for the
program last year, including that it use more data when reporting on its
effectiveness.

Under
the program, whistleblowers can qualify for awards by supplying information on
noncompliance cases involving more than $2 million. The 2006 law also scrapped
a $10 million maximum award, and instead implemented a limit based on the
amount of revenue collected from the information.

The inspector general’s audit found that IRS officials had put
in processes making sure that claims were accurately controlled. But the agency
is not mandating that employees review when a claim was received, which the
inspector general called a critical piece of information.

In its response to the report, the IRS said it was working
to make improvements to the program.

“While we appreciate the issues identified by TIGTA, it is
important to note that no instances of errors in the received data have been
identified,” wrote Stephen Whitlock, the director of the whistleblower program.