,,ii #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bjee ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,june #ae1 #bjba,mr4 ,grassley 7for himself and ,mr4 ,wyden7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,finance ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf to modify and reform rules relating to investigations and whistleblowers1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,irs ,whistleblower ,program ,improvement ,act of #bjba4 #b4 ,standard and scope of review of whistleblower award determination 7a7 ,in general ,paragraph 7#d7 of section #gfbc7;b7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended-- 7#a7 by striking appealed to and inserting reviewed by2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 ,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 evidence44 7b7 ,conforming amendment ,the heading of paragraph 7#d7 of section #gfbc7;b7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by striking ,appeal and inserting ,review4 7c7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall apply to cases under section #gfbc7;b77#d7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf which are pending on1 or filed on or after1 the date of the enactment of this ,act4 #c4 ,exemption from sequestration 7a7 ,in general ,section #bee of the ,balanced ,budget and ,emergency ,deficit ,control ,act of #aihe 7#b ,u4,s4,c4 #ije7 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating subsection 7k7 as subsection 7l72 and 7#b7 by inserting after subsection 7j7 the following3 7k7 ,awards to whistleblowers ,an award authorized under section #gfbc of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf shall be exempt from reduction under any order issued under this part4 4 7b7 ,applicability ,the amendment made by this section shall apply to any sequestration order issued under the ,balanced ,budget and ,emergency ,deficit ,control ,act of #aihe 7#b ,u4,s4,c4 #ijj et seq47 after ,december #ca1 #bjbj4 #d4 ,whistleblower privacy protections 7a7 ,in general ,paragraph 7#d7 of section #gfbc7;b7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 as amended by section #b1 is further amended-- 7#a7 by striking determination4--,any determination and inserting 8determination4-- 7,a7 ,in general ,any determination 1 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following new subparagraph3 7,b7 ,presumption of anonymity ,for purposes of ,rule #cde7;a7 of the ,tax ,court ,rules of ,practice and ,procedure 7as in effect on the date of the enactment of the ,,irs ,whistleblower ,program ,improvement ,act of #bjba71 and any successor rule1 with respect to any action under this paragraph there shall be a rebuttable presumption that a whistleblower would be subject to retaliation1 physical harm1 social and professional stigma1 or economic distress which outweighs the counterbalancing societal interests in knowing the whistleblower's identity4 4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall apply to petitions filed under ,rule #cde7;a7 of the ,tax ,court ,rules of ,practice and ,procedure which are pending on1 or filed on or after1 the date of the enactment of this ,act4 #e4 ,modification of ,,irs whistleblower report 7a7 ,in general ,section #djf7;c7 of division ,a of the ,tax ,relief and ,health ,care ,act of #bjjf is amended by striking such use1 in paragraph 7#a7 and inserting such use 7which shall include a list and descriptions of the top tax avoidance schemes1 not to exceed #aj1 disclosed by whistleblowers during such year714 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendment made by this section shall apply to reports the due date for which are after the enactment of this ,act4 #f4 ,interest on whistleblower awards 7a7 ,in general ,section #gfbc7;b7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by redesignating paragraphs 7#e7 and 7#f7 as paragraphs 7#f7 and 7#g71 respectively1 and by inserting after paragraph 7#e7 the following new paragraph3 7#e7 ,interest 7,a7 ,in general ,if the ,secretary has not provided notice to an individual described in paragraph 7#a7 of a preliminary award determination before the applicable date1 the amount of any award under this subsection shall include interest from such date at the overpayment rate under section #ffba7;a74 7,b7 ,exception ,no interest shall accrue under this paragraph after the date on which the ,secretary provides notice to the individual of a preliminary award determination4 7,c7 ,applicable date ,for purposes of this paragraph1 the applicable date is the date that is #ab months after the first date on which-- 7i7 all of the proceeds resulting from actions subject to the award determination have been collected1 and 7ii7 either-- 7,i7 the statutory period for filing a claim for refund has expired1 or 7,,ii7 the taxpayers subject to the actions and the ,secretary have agreed with finality to the tax or other liabilities for the periods at issue1 and either the taxpayers have waived the right to file a claim for refund or any claim for refund has been resolved4 4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this ,act4 #g4 ,retention of collected proceeds to fund program costs 7a7 ,in general ,section #gfbc of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7e7 ,retention of collected proceeds ,to fund program costs 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary may retain annually up to #c percent of the amount of proceeds collected as a result of actions described in subsection 7a7 7including any related actions7 or from any settlements in response to such actions to be used for program costs 7within the meaning of section #fcjg7;d77#b77 associated with administering the whistleblower programs under this section1 including reimbursing the applicable divisions of the ,internal ,revenue ,service for costs associated with investigating whistleblower claims1 except that the amount so retained in any year shall not exceed #aj1jjj1jjj4 ,the ,secretary shall keep adequate records regarding amounts so retained and used4 7#b7 ,coordination rules ,the amount credited as paid by any taxpayer1 and any award to a whistleblower1 shall be determined without regard to this subsection4 7#c7 ,adjustment for inflation ,in the case of calendar years beginning after #bjbb1 the #aj1jjj1jjj amount in paragraph 7#a7 shall be increased by an amount equal to-- 7,a7 such dollar amount1 multiplied by 7,b7 the cost-of-living adjustment determined under section #a7;f77#c7 for the calendar year in which the taxable year begins1 determined by substituting #bjba for #bjaf in subparagraph 7,a77ii7 thereof4 ,if any increase under the preceding sentence is not a multiple of #aj1jjj1 such increase shall be rounded to the next lowest multiple of #aj1jjj4 4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendment made by this section shall apply to proceeds collected after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 #h4 ,correction regarding deductions for attorney's fees 7a7 ,in general ,section #fb7;a77#ba77;,a77i7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by striking #gfbc7;b7 and inserting #gfbc4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendment made by this section shall apply to taxable years ending after the date of the enactment of this ,act4