Whistleblower Spurs $4.5 Million New York Tax Fraud Settlement

New York announced a $4.5 million settlement on Friday with a travel booking company and three of its affiliates following a tax fraud investigation initiated by a whistleblower under the state’s False Claims Act.

The settlement comes as more states, including Pennsylvania and Wyoming, consider establishing a False Claims Act that allows tax fraud claims. Tax professionals have lobbied to exclude tax-related claims from such proposals.

About 30 states have False Claims Act statutes—as do a handful of municipalities, including Philadelphia and Allegheny County in Pennsylvania—but only a few of them cover tax fraud. The laws allow private individuals to ...