Former President Trump spoke out about the US-Russia prisoner swap deal, reports of an Iranian assassination plot, and reports that the US would lose a conflict with China.
The three Americans released from Russia in last week’s prisoner swap deal are returning to life in the United States, but now they’re facing another challenge: IRS fines and fees assessed to them while they were held as Russian hostages.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters on Sunday about a “little-known fact” about the IRS burden that Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Arus Kurmasheva will each face now that they’re back in the U.S.
“Any hostages released will face fines and fees from the IRS,” Schumer said. “They’re coming home, but they’re going to need assistance from the IRS here because in some cases they haven’t filed IRS returns for years, which leads to fines and fees and back pay. This is unexpected, but it’s common. We know these people are not evading taxes.”
According to the IRS non-filing penalty, people who fail to file owe 5% of the tax due for each month the tax return is late, capped at 5 months, after which the non-payment penalty continues until the tax is paid, up to 25% of the tax due.
Released US prisoners Gershkovich and Whelan could face ‘devastating’ trauma, mental health experts say
Ars Kurmasheva, Paul Whelan (centre) and Evan Gershkovich (right) were released from detention in Russia last week. (REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Beal/Reuters)
According to the IRS website, interest is charged on the penalty.
Schumer urged the IRS to waive all penalties and fees for the three Americans, saying they have “suffered for too long” at the brutal hands of President Vladimir Putin.
“We want to see burdens like IRS penalties and fees that undermine credit and cause stress completely eliminated,” the New York senator said.

Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva could face penalties and fees from the IRS for failing to pay tax returns while in Russian custody. (REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Beal/Reuters)
In a statement Monday, the IRS told Fox Digital that the agency stands ready to work with affected families.
“The IRS is committed to working with individuals who have been held hostage or unlawfully detained to resolve any tax issues that may arise from these heartbreaking and unjust circumstances,” an IRS statement said. “Federal privacy laws prevent us from commenting on anyone’s specific tax situation. As in previous situations, the IRS stands ready to work with affected taxpayers and their families, as well as Congress, to provide the maximum penalty relief available under federal law and other appropriate accommodations.”
Schumer said he worked to pass a bipartisan bill in the Senate in May to do just that, and now he urges House Speaker Mike Johnson to pass the bill in the House as quickly as possible.
Johnson’s office told Fox Digital on Monday morning that the bill is under review.
Behind the scenes of the prisoner swap to free WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich from a Russian prison
Gershkovich, Wehlan and Kurmaseva were among 16 people imprisoned in Russia who were exchanged for eight Russian prisoners of war, in the largest prisoner exchange in post-Soviet history.
Grover Norquist, president of the American Tax Reform Institute, speaks on “The Evening Edit” about reports that about 150,000 federal employees have evaded taxes.
Gershkovich, a 32-year-old reporter for The Wall Street Journal, was arrested and accused of espionage while covering a trip to the Ural Mountain city of Yekaterinburg on March 29, 2023. The Biden administration declared he was “unlawfully detained,” and both the Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government have staunchly denied the charges, describing them as absurd on their face.
Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive and Marine Corps veteran, has been jailed since 2018 on espionage charges that he and Washington deny.
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Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist, was convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military, a charge both her family and her employer, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, deny.