The House on Monday passed, 346-10, a bipartisan bill that would make several reforms to an IRS whistleblower program that has recovered billions from noncompliant taxpayers.

“This is real money returned to the Treasury that would otherwise have been lost,” said Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., the measure’s sponsor, during floor remarks. “In many cases, these are complex, high-dollar schemes that would not have been identified without insider information, proving that whistleblowers play an essential role in upholding the integrity of our tax code.”

The IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act (H.R. 7959) would:

• Modify the standard for reviewing whistleblower award determinations in the U.S. Tax Court in order to allow new evidence to be introduced during appeal.
• Permit whistleblowers to be anonymous before the Tax Court, unless there is a “societal interest” in disclosing their identity.
• Require interest on certain whistleblower payments if the IRS does not meet the deadline to inform the individual of an award recommendation, as part of an effort to ensure the tax agency distributes payments in a timely manner.

“Whistleblowers often face uncertainty and long delays. And in some cases, they face real personal and professional risk just for coming forward,” said Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., a cosponsor of the bill, in a statement. “We need to be doing everything we can to fix those problems.”

Kelly and Thompson are the chair and ranking member of the House Ways and Means...

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