06 março 2007

ECOPOL

Informants will earn rewards for turning in tax cheaters: The Internal Revenue Service estimates that the difference between what Americans owe in federal taxes and what they actually pay is about $345 billion annually.
In an effort to close this huge "tax gap," Congress and President Bush in December enacted a measure designed to give people more motivation to tattle on dishonest employers, employees, co-workers, acquaintances and former spouses.
But the enhanced incentives -- in the form of higher cash rewards to those who blow the whistle on tax cheats -- will go only to those informants who provide specific, useful information. [...]
Rewards were granted, but they were relatively few, as were the amounts of money recovered. In 2005, for example, 169 whistle-blowers were awarded $7.6 million -- about 8 percent of the $93.7 million that the government collected as a result of the tips.