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http://jazonmert.wordpress.com/2013/05/24/the-irs-wants-to-shrink-payments-to-tax-fraud-whistleblowers-bp-spain-holdings-madrid-articles/ FORTUNE -- Hoping to win millions of dollars from the Internal Revenue Service for exposing tax fraud? It's going to get even tougher -- and some powerful people in Washington are not amused. In January, Sen. Charles Grassley, the 79-year-old Iowa Republican, chastised acting IRS commissioner Steven Miller over his recent proposal to restrict the agency's whistleblower program, already an object of criticism since its creation in 2006. The proposed curbs, Grassley wrote in a letter to Miller, showed one thing: that the IRS and its boss, the Treasury Department, "view whistleblowers with hostility." What exactly is at issue? The current whistleblower rules say a tipster can collect a reward of 15%-30% of proceeds brought in as a direct result of a tip. The dirt has to involve tax evasion of at least $2 million or tax fraud by an individual making at least $200,000 a year. Miller's proposed restrictions will likely shrink payouts. Among the curbs: making it nearly impossible for whistleblowers to share in rewards stemming from a company's inflation of losses, and excluding from rewards any money brought in from so-called Fbar fines. These draconian fines, levied on offshore tax evaders, are often dozens and even hundreds of times the amount of actual back-tax an evader must pay. MORE: 3 things Jamie Dimon might have meant when he said he was 'richer than you' But here's the rub in this unusual political fight: Even in its current structure, very few whistleblower claims get paid, thanks to bureaucratic foot-dragging at the IRS, according to lawyers representing whistleblowers. Despite receiving more than 1,960 claims since 2006, the IRS made its first payment only in 2011. In total, it has paid only three claims. The biggest: $104 million to convicted felon Bradley Birkenfeld, the former UBS AG private banker who kick-started the

TNK-BP is a major vertically integrated Russian oil company headquartered in Moscow. It is Russia's third-largest oil producer and among the ten largest private oil companies in the world. TNK-BP is Russia's third largest oil company in terms of reserves and crude oil production. It is 50% owned by BP and 50% by a group of Russian businessmen, represented by the AAR (Alfa-Access-Renova) consortium. Since the merger in 2003 between BP's and AAR's assets in Russia and Ukraine, TNK-BP has expanded through acquisitions such as that of Slavneft and organically through improving operational efficiency. In that time, over a backdrop of shareholder dispute, TNK-BP's profits have risen from US$2.7 billion in 2003 to $5.3 billion in 2009. DeGolyer and MacNaughton confirmed that as of 31 December 2009 TNK-BP's total proved reserves amounted to 11.667 billion barrels (1.8549×109 m3) of oil equivalent, applying PRMS (formerly SPE) criteria. Proved reserves constitute a total proved PRMS reserve replacement ratio of 329%. History On 1 September 2003, BP and AAR announced the creation of a strategic partnership to jointly hold their oil assets in Russia and Ukraine. As a result, TNK-ВР was created. ААR contributed its holdings in TNK International, ONAKO, SIDANCO, RUSIA Petroleum (which held licenses for the Kovykta field and the Verkhnechonsk field), and the Rospan field in West Siberia (the New Urengoy and East Urengoy deposits). BP contributed its holding in SIDANCO, RUSIA Petroleum, and its BP Moscow retail network. In January 2004, BP and AAR reached an agreement to incorporate AAR's 50% stake in Slavneft into TNK-BP. Slavneft, which has operations in Russia and Belarus, was previously owned jointly by AAR and Sibneft (now Gazprom Neft). In 2009, TNK-BP increased production to 1.69 million barrels per day (269×103 m3/d) of oil equivalent (excluding TNK-BP's share in Slavneft production) compared to 1.642 million barrels per day (261.1×103 m3/d) of oil equivalent pro

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Silvio Berlusconi to request community service for tax fraud sentence "Silent and humble manual tasks" are not something to which Silvio Berlusconi has ever felt naturally drawn. Before big business and politics he sold vacuum cleaners and sang on cruise ships. Now, however, thanks to the Italian legal system, a very different kind of activity awaits him. His lawyer has said he intends to ask to serve his sentence for tax fraud in a community service placement. Franco Coppi said that barring any last-minute changes, the former prime minister's legal team would submit the request to the Milan courts by the end of this week. It would be then up to the judges to decide how to proceed. The embattled 77-year-old billionaire has until the middle of the month to decide how to spend his commuted one-year sentence, which his lawyers reportedly hope will be further whittled down to nine months for good behavior. Berlusconi could yet opt for house arrest, but for a man who continues to nurse great political ambitions despite recent setbacks, the logistical restrictions would perhaps prove unacceptable. Last week he was forced to perform a humiliating U-turn in parliament following an unprecedented party rebellion, only for a committee then to recommend he be expelled from the senate due to the tax fraud conviction.