The recent regulatory reform package known as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act authorizes the Securities and Exchange Commission to pay bounties to whistleblowers whose information results in a monetary recovery. In cases involving valuable information concerning securities fraud, the whistleblower payment can be as high as 30 percent of the total recovery. There is good reason to believe that these bounty provisions will extend to cases involving violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA), which broadly prohibits the payment of bribes to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining government contracts; securities fraud occurs because the bribes are seldom, if ever, properly accounted for on a company’s books. Recent FCPA cases have resulted in recoveries in the tens of millions of dollars.
Two recent court decisions and a 2004 statute affirm that False Claims Act whistleblowers have to pay income taxes on their relator’s share of any recovery―at ordinary income rates. Because the taxation questions that arise from whistleblower’s rewards can be significant, as shown below, it remains wise for any successful relator to seek proper and current tax advice.