1. (a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.

2. (b) “Covered enforcement action” means an enforcement action brought by the Comptroller under this article that concerns:

   1. (1)

      1. (i) the State and county income tax liability of an individual taxpayer or a couple that is married and files jointly whose federal adjusted gross income is at least $250,000; or
      2. (ii) the State and county tax liability of a business, including those persons who are jointly and severally liable for the State tax liability of a business under this article, the annual gross receipts or sales of which are at least $2,000,000; and
   2. (2) taxes in dispute exceeding $250,000.

3. (c) “Original information” means information that:

   1. (1) is derived from the independent knowledge or analysis of a whistleblower;
   2. (2) is not known to the Comptroller from any other source, unless the whistleblower is the original source of the information;
   3. (3) is not exclusively derived from an allegation made in a judicial or administrative hearing, in a governmental report, hearing, audit, or investigation or from the news media, unless the whistleblower is a source of the information; and
   4. (4) is provided to the Comptroller in a sworn affidavit for the first time on or after October 1, 2021.
4. (d) “Related action” means any judicial or administrative action brought by a State or local agency or entity based on the original information provided by a whistleblower to the Comptroller under this subtitle.

5. (e)

   1. (1) “Whistleblower” means an individual or entity who provides, or two or more individuals or entities acting jointly who provide, in accordance with this subtitle, information to the Comptroller in a sworn affidavit relating to a violation of State tax law, including a rule or regulation, that has occurred, is ongoing, or is about to occur.
   2. (2) “Whistleblower” includes an individual who provides information to a law enforcement agency before providing the information to the Comptroller.

Added by Acts 2021, c. 515, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2021.