In 2016, the Internal Revenue Service reported that unpaid taxes cost the federal government over $400 billion a year. According to documents recently released through FOIA, that same year, the IRS Whistleblower’s Office, which offers compensation to individuals who report on tax evasion, had a budget just over $6 million.
The material, released in response to a request by Taylor Amarel, shows the 2016 budget to be a substantial increase over past years, with a budget of only $90,000 in 2007, the first year the Whistleblower’s Office was established.
Despite the relatively small budget, the Whistleblower’s Office still manages to punch well above its weight class - last fiscal year, the office reported $1.4 billion in recovered taxes, with $312 million paid out.
Amarel’s request also asked for any meetings minutes in which the Whistleblower’s Office budget was discussed, to which the IRS claimed it could find no responsive records.
The Whistleblower’s Office FY2018 report is embedded below.
Image via Whiteman Air Force Base
