Earlier this week we filed our comments to Prop. Treas. Reg. sections 301.6103(h)(4)-1, 301.7623-1; 301.7623-2, 301.7623-3, and 301.7623-4 with the Treasury Department. In summary, our specific comments, organized by their corresponding section of the Proposed Regulations, are as follows:
1) §301.6103(h)(4)-1: Disclosures can be made under section 6103 before the preliminary award determination letter is sent out;
2) §301.7623-1: The procedures for how to file a claim are already known;
3) §301.7623-2: The definitions of “proceeds based on” and “collected proceeds” are an erroneous interpretation of the statute;
4) §301.7623-3: Award determination administrative proceedings start before the preliminary award determination letter; and
5) §301.7623-4: The starting point of the Award Computation is unfair to whistleblowers.
As a general matter we questioned what this regulation project – which Treasury has been working on since 2009 – was meant to achieve, and whether the Proposed Regulations as written meet that objective. Because we think that the language proposed is both too narrowly drafted and contrary to the statute, it will likely restrict the ability of the Whistleblower Office to make award determinations that are consistent with the statute. Therefore, we urged that many portions of these Proposed Regulations not be finalized, which would mean they have no legal effect as a “Proposed Regulation” because they were not issued in “Temporary and Proposed Regulation” form.
Recent Comments