Court of Appeals Decision on Whistleblower Award

This document is a court opinion from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit regarding a whistleblower's appeal related to tax evasion cases. The appellant, a whistleblower, reported that several Wall Street firms were aiding clients in avoiding tax payments, leading to IRS investigations that recovered significant unpaid taxes. The IRS Whistleblower Office awarded the appellant five awards based on the recovered proceeds, typically allotting the maximum of 30%. However, for one case, the appellant received only 22%, which he contested. The court found that the Whistleblower Office's reasoning for the reduced award was unsupported by the record, as the appellant had significantly contributed to the investigations. The court vacated the Tax Court's decision affirming the award and remanded the case for further proceedings, indicating the need for a reevaluation of the award determination process and the factual findings that led to the lower percentage allocation.