Bill Text: IL HB2813 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Whistleblower Reward Program Act. Provides that the Department of Revenue is authorized to pay awards as it deems necessary for detecting underpayments of any tax administered by the Department.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-02-20 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB2813 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-HB2813-Introduced.html

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99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2015 and 2016 HB2813 Introduced , by Rep. Patricia R. Bellock SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
Creates the Whistleblower Reward Program Act. Provides that the Department of Revenue is authorized to pay awards as it deems necessary for detecting underpayments of any tax administered by the Department.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning revenue.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Whistleblower Reward Program Act.
Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Department" means the Department of Revenue.
"Illinois Independent Tax Tribunal" means the Illinois
Independent Tax Tribunal established under the Illinois
Independent Tax Tribunal Act of 2012.
Section 10. Awards to whistleblowers.
(a) The Department is authorized to pay such sums as it
deems necessary for detecting underpayments of any tax
administered by the Department in cases where such expenses are
not otherwise provided for by law. Those amounts shall be paid
from the proceeds of amounts collected by reason of the
information provided, and any amount so collected shall be
available for such payments.
(b) If a State's Attorney, the Department, the Illinois
Independent Tax Tribunal, or the Attorney General proceeds with
any administrative or judicial action based on information
brought to that entity's attention by an individual under

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subsection (a), then the Department may award that individual
not more than 30% of the collected proceeds (including
penalties, interest, additions to tax, and additional amounts)
resulting from the action (including any related actions) or
from any settlement in response to such action. The
determination of the amount of such award shall depend upon the
extent to which the individual substantially contributed to
such action.
(c) If the action described in subsection (b) is one which
the Department determines to be based principally on
disclosures of specific allegations (other than information
provided by the individual described in subsection (a))
resulting from a judicial or administrative hearing, from a
governmental report, hearing, audit, or investigation, or from
the news media, the Department may award such sums as it
considers appropriate, but in no case more than 10% of the
collected proceeds (including penalties, interest, additions
to tax, and additional amounts) resulting from the action
(including any related actions) or from any settlement in
response to such action, taking into account the significance
of the individual's information and the role of such individual
and any legal representative of such individual in contributing
to such action.
(d) If the Department determines that the claim for an
award this Section is brought by an individual who planned and
initiated the actions that led to the underpayment of tax, then

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the Department may appropriately reduce such award. If such
individual is convicted of criminal conduct arising from the
role described in this subsection, the Department shall deny
any award.
(e) Any individual described in this Section may be
represented by counsel.
Section 15. Submission under penalty of perjury. No award
may be made under this Act based on information submitted to
the Secretary unless such information is submitted under
penalty of perjury.