The U.S. federal government has an “informant award” program that pays private individuals who provide information about other taxpayers. USCs and LPRs who live outside the U.S. are subject to being reported upon by private persons throughout the world.
The payment is mandatory by the government if the statutory requirements are satisfied. The IRS summary of the law can be found on their website – here – and provides –
“The IRS Whistleblower Office pays money to people who blow the whistle on persons who fail to pay the tax that they owe. If the IRS uses information provided by the whistleblower, it can award the whistleblower up to 30 percent of the additional tax, penalty and other amounts it collects.”
For more details on the whistleblower program, you can review – The 2013 GAO Report of the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, International Tax Journal, CCH Wolters Kluwer, January-February 2014.
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