Sen. Chuck Grassley, author of the provisions improving the incentives for whistleblowers to come forward about large dollar tax fraud, today received a commitment from Treasury secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin in support of a strong IRS whistleblower function. Their exchange came at the Finance Committee nomination hearing for Mnuchin. Grassley made the following comment on this commitment.
“Having a Treasury secretary who understands the whistleblower role in enforcing tax fraud is important. Whistleblowers have helped the IRS recover $3.4 billion that otherwise would have been lost to fraud. Cracking down on big dollar tax fraud is a matter of fairness to the vast majority of taxpayers who pay what they owe. The IRS has made progress in working with whistleblowers, but there’s more work to be done. Mr. Mnuchin gave his assurance that he’ll work with me if confirmed to support tax fraud whistleblowers.
“I also asked Mr. Mnuchin about the importance of supporting the congressionally established phase-out of the wind energy production tax credit. A smooth transition and the certainty of the phase-out are necessary for a fast-growing industry that supports numerous jobs in Iowa and elsewhere around the country. The industry needs to be able to maintain its successful growth even as its tax credit phases out. Mr. Mnuchin said he supported the smooth phase-out. And I asked Mr. Mnuchin about the role of private contractors in collecting tax debt that the IRS hasn’t tried to collect. He agreed that it makes sense to use outside help in closing the tax gap.”
The Grassley-Mnuchin exchange is available here.
