Whistleblower Seeks $240 Million From IRS, Challenges Award Cap

The IRS Whistleblower Office allegedly acted arbitrarily when it capped an award which, uncapped, would equal $240 million, at $10 million, the John Doe whistleblower’s complaint said.

The lawsuit seeks to eliminate the $10-million fixed maximum imposed on whistleblower awards by the IRS through its computation guidelines in IRM 25.2.2. The US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee should vacate the cap and issue an order finding the plaintiff is entitled to the full award because the maximum violated the Administrative Procedure Act, the complaint said Monday.

The IRS’s refusal to perform an individualized analysis “resulted in ...