SEC. 21.32. REWARDS FOR INFORMATION.

(Added by Ord. No. 174,088, Eff. 8/19/01.)

(a) Reward Program. The Director of Finance is authorized to pay such sums as the Director deems necessary for detecting nonpayments and underpayments of City of Los Angeles business tax. Any amount payable under this section shall be paid from the proceeds of the amount collected as a result of the information provided.

(b) Eligibility to File Claim for Reward. Any person, other than certain present or former City of Los Angeles employees, who submits to the Office of Finance information relating to the nonpayment or underpayment of business tax is eligible to file a claim for reward under this section. No person who was employed by the City of Los Angeles in the Office of Finance, at the time the person came into possession of information relating to the nonpayment or underpayment of business tax, or at the time the person submitted such information to the Office of Finance, shall be eligible for reward under this section. Any other City officer or employee, or former City officer or employee, is eligible to file a claim for reward if the information submitted to the Office of Finance came to the officer’s or employee’s knowledge other than in the course of the officer’s or employee’s official duties.

(c) Submission of Information and Filing Claim for Reward. Any person desiring to claim a reward under this section must submit information relating to the nonpayment or underpayment of business tax to the Office of Finance on a form furnished by, and in the manner prescribed by, the Director of Finance. As early as the time of such submission of information, but no later than one year after the City’s recovery of unpaid or underpaid business tax pursuant to the submitted information, the person must file a claim for reward with the City Clerk on a form furnished by, and in the manner prescribed by, the Director of Finance.

(d) Payment of Reward. All relevant factors, including the value of the information furnished in relation to the facts developed by the investigation of the nonpayment or underpayment, shall be taken into account by the Director of Finance in determining whether a reward shall be paid, and if so, the amount thereof. Reasons for rejecting a claim for reward include, but are not limited to:

(1) the information submitted by the informant was of no value;

(2) the information submitted by the informant was already known to the City; and

(3) payment would be contrary to law.

(e) Amount of Reward. The amount of a reward shall represent what the Director of Finance deems to be adequate compensation in the particular case, not to exceed 10 percent of the additional taxes, interest and penalties which are recovered as a result of the information. No reward shall be paid if the Director of Finance determines that the recovery was so small as to call for a reward of less than $50.00. Payment of a reward will be made as promptly as the circumstances of the case permit, but not until the taxes, interest and penalties involved have been collected. However, the informant may waive any claim for reward with respect to an uncollected portion of the taxes, interest and penalties, in which case the claim may be immediately processed. Only a duly authorized representative of the Director of Finance is authorized to make any offer or promise, or statement otherwise purporting to bind the Director of Finance with respect to the payment of any reward or the amount thereof, and any such offer, promise or statement must be in writing.

(f) Protest by Informant Against Action on Claim. If an informant protests the action taken on the claim, the Director of Finance or the Director’s representative may confer with the informant or the Director’s representative to resolve the protest. In the course of such conferring, the Director or the Director’s representative may disclose the amount collected pursuant to the information furnished by the informant, notwithstanding the provisions of 21.17 of this article. However, the results of any audit or examination shall not be revealed to the informant or the informant’s representative in violation of Section 21.17 of this article.

(g) Anonymity of Informant. In order to fairly distribute the burden of taxation among the subjects thereof, it is the policy of the City of Los Angeles to encourage informants to submit information concerning unpaid and underpaid business taxes. In furtherance of this policy, no person shall disclose the identity of an informant to any unauthorized person, except to the extent required by law. If other than the informant’s true name is used in furnishing the information, the claimant must include with their claim satisfactory proof of the claimant’s identity as the informant.