Will Treasury inspectors use close? UK soars whistleblower spending

Harassment of persons or entities for reporting bad practices to taxpayers, even from the same company they work for, is already a reality in some jurisdictions. UK Tax Services was a pioneer In the use of informants to prosecute fraud and The UK Treasury has increased the payment clause for these whistleblowers by 70% in the past five years.

Specifically, the UK tax agency spent £508,500 on people close to it in the last financial year. This figure is for the 2022-2023 financial year and is significantly higher than the amount paid to whistleblowers in the 2018-19 financial year, which was £290,250, and around 3% higher than the amount paid.£495,277 had been paid in the previous financial yearcorresponding to 2021-2022.

This was stated in a statement issued by the law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain. In any case, the company’s specialists believe that the British Treasury needs to make the reporting system more accessible and accessible Make the payment system more transparent To encourage more tax whistleblowers.

“UK Revenue Services payments to whistleblowers are small given the size of the UK tax gap,” says Adam Craggs, partner and head of tax, financial crime and regulation at the firm. In his opinion, “The Treasury could benefit from adopting this decision The American approach to offering more generous prizes To those who blow the whistle on tax evaders.

The UK is not the only country paying whistleblowers in the area of ​​taxation. US Revenue Services (IRS) Whistleblowers are paid between 15% and 30% of the additional tax collected Through investigations made as a result of the information received. In 2022, the IRS paid $37.8 million to 132 whistleblowers, 58 times the amount paid to whistleblowers in the United Kingdom.

In the same period the IRS received 5,084 complaints and 12,597 reward claims. In the United States, it is also easier to denounce. A single submission to the IRS whistleblower office can be used to report more than one taxpayer.

In Spain, possibility Use of confidants by the Tax Agency (AEAT). The Association of State Treasury Inspectors (IHE) has included this recommendation in its proposals against tax fraud and reform of tax administrations.

“The action consists of the ability of AEAT to dispose of funds to pay for confidential information by which fraudulent shares have been discovered or recovered, Similar to those already available for the payment of operations related to the prosecution of smugglingThe document stated that “Basic Law No. 12 of 1995 of December 12, related to the suppression of smuggling, is authorized by virtue of the second additional text of Basic Law No. 12 of 1995.”

The proposed amendment is that classified items be included in the said regulation also for investigations conducted by the IRS that may lead to a financial crime complaint. This procedure has been used with Success and profitability are evident by the United States, France, Germany and other countries,” the inspectors note.

In addition, the inspectors’ document stresses that “in order to combat fraud of any kind, the possibility for the inspection body to carry out procedures to obtain disguised information must be legally regulated.” It is one of the other recommendations they make in this regard.