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Escaping from the IRS the hard way

September 17, 2009

The IRS crackdown on offshore bank accounts is putting a lot of pressure on folks who've been stashing cash around the world. It looks as though the pressure may have been more than one Florida tycoon could take:

Billionaire blue blood Finn Caspersen, whose Tampa ties and past ownership of Harbour Island made him a regional version of royalty, committed suicide 10 days ago. Only now are the reasons for his self-inflicted gunshot to the head coming to light.

Caspersen, 67, suffered from kidney cancer and had undergone chemotherapy. But it was a federal investigation of possible tax evasion in offshore accounts, of keeping untold millions tucked away in a secretive Liechtenstein bank, that likely pushed Caspersen over the edge.

...

Exact details of his tax woes are still coming into focus, but Caspersen may have owed up to $100 million in taxes and fines and faced prison.

Very sad. The IRS amnesty for offshore accounts ends next Wednesday. It seems like a better deal than the one Mr. Caspersen ended up with.

Link: New York Times coverage.