I've gone through the various "awards for whistleblowers", they are making it extremely attractive. One actually pocketed 30 millions tax-free last year! http://www.sec.gov/News/PressRelease/Detail/PressRelease/1370543011290
No idea why it is tax free, but it is. Actually, if it is a special fund set by Congress, I can't really imagine it being taxed. This one actually pocketed more than $30million, and was based overseas, and a non-US citizen. The previous year, the highest payout was $14million. Now they are talking about "up to 30%" : so the $30million awardee one must have allowed the SEC to pocket more than $100million.