[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1336 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1336
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify and reform rules
relating to investigations and whistleblowers, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 3, 2023
Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania (for himself and Mr. Thompson of California)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify and reform rules
relating to investigations and whistleblowers, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``IRS Whistleblower Program
Improvement Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. STANDARD AND SCOPE OF REVIEW OF WHISTLEBLOWER AWARD
DETERMINATION.
(a) In General.--Paragraph (4) of section 7623(b) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
(1) by striking ``appealed to'' and inserting ``reviewed
by''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ``Any review by the
Tax Court under the preceding sentence shall be de novo and
shall be based on the administrative record established at the
time of the original determination and any additional newly
discovered or previously unavailable evidence.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The heading of paragraph (4) of section
7623(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking
``Appeal'' and inserting ``Review''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to cases under section 7623(b)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 which are pending on, or filed on or after, the date of the
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. EXEMPTION FROM SEQUESTRATION.
(a) In General.--Section 255 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 905) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (k) as subsection (l); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (j) the following:
``(k) Awards to Whistleblowers.--An award authorized under section
7623 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall be exempt from
reduction under any order issued under this part.''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendment made by this section shall apply
to any sequestration order issued under the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900 et seq.) after
December 31, 2022.
SEC. 4. WHISTLEBLOWER PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.
(a) In General.--Paragraph (6) of section 7623(b) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
``(D) Whistleblower anonymity before the tax
court.--Notwithstanding sections 7458 and 7461, the Tax
Court shall grant a whistleblower's request to proceed
anonymously before the Court for all proceedings under
this section absent a finding by the Tax Court that a
heightened societal interest exists for disclosing the
whistleblower's identity, exceeding the normal interest
in knowing a petitioner's identity. Should the Tax
Court find that such a heightened societal interest
exists, such interest shall be balanced against the
potential harm disclosure could cause to the
whistleblower.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to petitions filed with the Tax Court which are pending on, or
filed on or after, the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. MODIFICATION OF IRS WHISTLEBLOWER REPORT.
(a) In General.--Section 406(c) of division A of the Tax Relief and
Health Care Act of 2006 is amended by striking ``such use,'' in
paragraph (1) and inserting ``such use (which shall include a list and
descriptions of the top tax avoidance schemes, not to exceed 10,
disclosed by whistleblowers during such year),''.
(b) Effective Date.-- The amendment made by this section shall
apply to reports the due date for which are after the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 6. INTEREST ON WHISTLEBLOWER AWARDS.
(a) In General.--Section 7623(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 is amended by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as paragraphs
(6) and (7), respectively, and by inserting after paragraph (4) the
following new paragraph:
``(5) Interest.--
``(A) In general.--If the Secretary has not
provided notice to an individual described in paragraph
(1) of a preliminary award recommendation before the
applicable date, the amount of any award under this
subsection shall include interest from such date at the
overpayment rate under section 6621(a).
``(B) Exception.--No interest shall accrue under
this paragraph after the date on which the Secretary
provides notice to the individual of a preliminary
award recommendation.
``(C) Applicable date.--For purposes of this
paragraph, the applicable date is the date that is 12
months after the first date on which--
``(i) all of the proceeds resulting from
actions subject to the award recommendation
have been collected, and
``(ii) either--
``(I) the statutory period for
filing a claim for refund has expired,
or
``(II) the taxpayers subject to the
actions and the Secretary have agreed
with finality to the tax or other
liabilities for the periods at issue,
and either the taxpayers have waived
the right to file a claim for refund or
any claim for refund has been
resolved.''.
(b) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--The amendments made by this section shall
take effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(2) Special rule.--In the case of a claim for a
whistleblower award under section 7623(b) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to which, as of the date
described in paragraph (1)--
(A) the Secretary of the Treasury has not provided
notice to the individual of a preliminary award
recommendation as described in paragraph (5)(A) of such
section, as added by this Act, and
(B) the applicable date provided in paragraph
(5)(C) of such section, as so added, has passed,
the applicable date for purposes of such paragraph (5)(C) is
the date that is 12 months after the date described in
paragraph (1).
SEC. 7. CORRECTION REGARDING DEDUCTIONS FOR ATTORNEY'S FEES.
(a) In General.--Section 62(a)(21)(A)(i) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``7623(b)'' and inserting ``7623''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply
to taxable years ending after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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