Up for Debate: “Snitching” to the IRS
March 29, 2010 by Kathy McManus
Is it ethical to “rat out” your boss — or anyone else you think is a tax cheat — in order to collect a sizeable cash reward from the IRS?
SmartMoney.com’s Lisa Scherzer reports that the IRS Whistleblower Office is offering new “incentives” for citizens to turn in suspected tax dodgers. “If your employer, co-worker, landlord, neighbor, or father-in-law is raking in fistfuls of cash and bypassing Uncle Sam, you can anonymously report the abuse to the IRS and snag a windfall from their dishonesty,” Scherzer writes.
The whistleblower’s reward is 15 to 30 percent of a proven tax fraud, which must total at least $2 million by a company or $200,000 by an individual. Scherzer says that the increased awards will have “a profound effect” on motivating people to tattle. “Think about it,” she argues. “It’s not just the IRS that tax cheats have to worry about. It’s also their employees, colleagues, and acquaintances.”
Many SmartMoney readers reacted negatively to playing the role of snitch. “Sounds pretty slimy to me,” one commenter wrote. Turning in “your boss or ex for something like this is nothing short of a cowardly act,” wrote another.
“It’s the criminals who are the sleazebags,” countered a supporter of the whistleblower program. “It’s called using incentives to get people to do the ‘right thing.’”
Tell us what you think: Is it ethical to report someone to the IRS for tax evasion? What if reward money is your only motivation?
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65 Comments
What do you think? Leave a comment
April 22, 2010 by wayne driver
I think it is great to turn people in. pay your taxes like everybody else has too.
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May 2, 2010 by yvonne gott
i think it is very good to turn in the frauders, but in my case i might lose my life over it . my husband and his boss together do it every week hubby gets 300 under table weekly then another 225 weekly at another store of the same chain, and was also working a 3rd store in the same chain until that head manager got rid of him to pocket that 300 a week for himself and wife.this is being done now for almost 8 years i was beat and threaten in all types of manners to stop me from talking ,even my life was threatened by my husband . i did not go to police because they are his friends and cover for all of his wrong doing here illegal drugs drunk on the job never going in on time boss moving the time cards to fit what was needed in order for husband to get insurance and still get paid the regular pay he is makeing on the tax legally.plus there has been several other odd jobs he has done for places such as churches car dealers lawn work all of it untaxed.i know this first hand i was the one made to take him to do most all of these jobs,i talked with corporate about it in this case because they were almost caught this year but it was reworked and my husband signed off on it to cover his boss.husband decided to leave me and cause me to lose my home of 21 years that was mine prior to being married to him . i also have a son who is handicap as well as my self i can not meet the bills with the income we have ,and my husband knows if he pays child support or allimony to me it will only take away dollar for dollar on either or both checks my son and i receive . so that leaves it were he could pay the 2 bills i can not on his own . they are in both names ,and will remain in both names, even after divorce unless a refinance can be done.he has also got a lawyer on his behalf to try to take my rights away from my son .needless to say he has another woman on the side which i find out has been in the picture for several years .this does not bother me nor is it the reason for the whistle blow .she is soon to die anyway.of liver cancer cause she is a seveare drug and drink needle user . he has lost a lot of money in the past after going out on drinking binges and left our bills to last to pay and only paid then after i used all i had first . he always kept us on the edge of loseing everything .the whole time telling me he had someone else that was just waiting to take my place . now my house is going in forcloseure and i do not have enough to make both the house or the car payment . i can not relocate in state so i am stuck cause i can not move out of state with our son.he has broke in on me even though he has his own seperate place and i have no rights to be in his place but he can mine cause i am still married to him and his name is still on the mortgage.the laws in kentucky are bad .and the lawyer he has is running for judge here and presumed to be a shoe in already .i can not see how so much corruption can go on in a smaller place like muhlenberg county but it does .paul harvey once said of this place if you want to get by with murder go to muhlenberg county kentucky . it is true so many unsolved deaths here and so much drug and drug manufactoring that it has been nick named by the locals methenberg county.there also is a book made here about all the unsolved deaths and i hear a new addition is being made or is already been made.all of the law here has spoken to me and are completely agianst me. i wonder if it is because i am pretty sure they know more about the past chain of robberies that occured here to the stores which my husband is working for . i know my husband said he knew who all of the robbers were but would not tell me and was in fear for a bit then suddenly was no longer in fear .i found out that the robberies that were taped never made it to corporate headquartes but were given to local law here and i bet they are not here now . i seen the female in the videos and it does look exactly like the woman he has been sneeking around with over the years.my husband is trying to drive me nuts .and has used my past mental health records agianst me once before ,i was misdiagnosed for about 14 years with undiagnosed lupus, after that many years being told nothing is wrong with you but you know it is .and no one could find it ,yes it took its toll on me but i have since been fine mentally other than suffering from his abuse for 7 years straight .i now have signs of bipolar and depression but not enough to start meds yet thanks be to God.i am very ill always with many more deseases and conditions and husband timed everything perfectly to cause me to lose all i do have . yes i do think reporting tax fruad is fine i just wish it would be able to stop me from loseing everything in time but it is to late i feel .
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May 5, 2010 by kevin wilson
how do this work please
May 13, 2010 by JUNIE
YES,AS I READ YOUR LETTER MY HEART UNDERSTOOD . MY HUSBAND SENT ME THROUGH A SIMULAIR SITUATION.
May 13, 2010 by JUNIE
YES,AS I READ YOUR LETTER MY HEART UNDERSTOOD . BUT,GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL. . PUT THE WHOLE SITUATION IN HIS HANDS AND TRUST IN HIM AND IT WILL ALL WORK OUT IN YOUR FAVOR. HIS WORD SAID I WILL NOT LET THE RIGHTEOUS BE FORSAKEN NOR HIS SEED BEGGIN FOR BREAD. .
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May 16, 2010 by sherri ortiz Arnold
How do i report my exhusband who now has his green card and still doesnt pay his taxes and never has he has had his green card about 28 years now and owes back child support as well
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May 20, 2010 by sue kolczynski
this is hard i have someone to report but you make it to hard where do i tell ?????
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June 20, 2010 by Marika
I work very hard, and when I see how much is taken out everyweek on my check it makes me very mad. I know several people that get welfare, wick, insurance, food stamps and work but does not pay taxes. What about the couples that never get married and have lots of kids mother does not work and claims she is head of house hold, get lots of help from the gov. I work pay for insurance got sick and still work but can not pay my medical bills. Who is going to help the working people...........Middle class working people have no chance in the USA.
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August 31, 2010 by just me
As long as you think like that you are right, will never stand a chance. You need to change the way you think and get educated to the truth in this Country. It's just an illusion, our wonderful Government are destroying this wonderful country our forefathers put into place for us. How sad..........
August 1, 2010 by b.j.Hawk
Where do I turn them in ?
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August 11, 2010 by mashanda ross
A man is fraudling the IRS with fake documents saying this child is his grandson but is not he got documents from a lawyer by given her false information saying he is his grandson to get earn income credit. So where can i go to report him.
August 28, 2010 by ronald gilliam
if i knew how to contact the irs about this i would turn a lot of people in. have someone to contact me about this matter and i will.
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January 29, 2012 by carly brown
i think its that the irs is going to get people hurt where is the poicle at when you need them then you snitch and the irs tell every thing on the right on the internet so what are we at then running all your life for being a snitching
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April 22, 2010 by J. A. Comyns
Cheating on taxes is a crime so if a person knows someone who is cheating if he does not report it he is an accessory to a crime and can also be punished. Those who are tax cheats are hurting everyone who pays their taxes honestly so they deserve what they get. Would you call a person who turns in a murderer for the reward money a "snitch" or a "rat" ?
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April 26, 2010 by rat killer
a rat is a rat. the gov does not care 1 bit about u. they just want ur money.
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April 26, 2010 by T.Davison
I just found out my son mother claimed my son on her taxes and she has never helped me with any support,I feel she is useing my kindness for weakness and I want to get her back,how and who do i get in touch to stop her.
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April 28, 2010 by sheila murray
i would like to know why someone could get away with never filing his taxes and once he was turned in...for evasion...the irs only went back three years. he then settled the amount and got off with a small fine...why do all the people who pay their taxes for years and years not know that the irs only penalizes evasion with a fine and not prison? wat is happening to our economy? its because the govt pays out in welfare and ppl like this and dont demand the taxes from the income from fraud and illegal ppl getting income tax free... i have heard horror stories of the irs going after ppl that try to pay and just cant afford it. i believe this person should be in prison and instead he has opened a business after his so called penalty...i dont understand who makes these decisions for criminals of tax fraud.
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April 28, 2010 by Mary Mattox
Yes, I would like to snitch on someone cheating on taxes. Just let me know how I can go about that. Everyone should have to do what I do.
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April 28, 2010 by danny stovall
give me how to go about turning some one in .my grand baby's dad claimed her on taxes this year.he is only 12,000 behind on child support.the child lives with me and my wife , daughter
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April 30, 2010 by allenray
please some one claim my baby in detroit and shhe is deid in 92 please check all taxs some one is doing died people stop tax fraud
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May 4, 2010 by Steve
Its very sad that people died or were injured, but the IRS was surprised that someone crashed an aiirplane into one of they're buildings. Or the guy that bulldozed his home and farm buildings to the ground before the IRS took them, It realy is no suprise me. A college class I was in did a fast poll of about the airplane crashing in Texas of nearly 100 people, all were sad about it but nearly 85% said it was no surprise to them that it did happen. This tatling thing is just adding to the hate to an unloved organization, look how loved the tax collectors were in the Bible. And ya the IRS should go after those that dont pay, heck I pay tax's every one should.
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May 9, 2010 by aunettismith
my daughter and her new boy freind. claim her children, in which we have raised from the time they were born.they have lived with us , and we provide everything for those children.the boyfreind claim them saying he was the father. my daughter gave him the ss # for the kids. she does not work . and the kids father is jail . and will be going back to prision, for a long time . (he just got out 1 year ago)my daughter and the boy freind got our money. and the IRS has us prove to them that the children are our claim , not theirs. We have claimed the children from the year they was born . Do these kind of people that lie to the IRS go to jail? What happens to them for lieing? i hope so.
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May 15, 2010 by Sonia Diaz
My landlord is cheating on taxed fraud, I am till at the resident but planning on moving by 05/29/2010. and I did report to IRS. so what. he is a bad man. and don"t care what happens, I had it with that Rat. and if you think you did wrong by reporting your husband your wrong your just as guilty as he is.
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May 17, 2010 by Anthony Caiafa
You witness someone being mugged on the street you later identify the perpertratior. The tax cheat and mugger are the same street crime white collar crime what is the difference? It is still an illegal act that should be reported.
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May 20, 2010 by Karen
I would REALLY like to talk to someone about this!!!!!......I know of someone who has been getting away with ripping off the taxpayers for WAY to long!!!!!....It's time for them to pay their share. I have to pay my taxes, and I think they should have to do the same!!!!!.....
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August 1, 2010 by Lahlia Ashley
Would like to speak to someone about tax evasion and fraud
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