Exemplary IRS Commissioner and Former EESI Board Member Dies at 103

Mortimer Caplin was President Kennedy's IRS Commissioner (Photo courtesy of University of Virginia)

Mortimer Caplin, a former EESI board member and charismatic IRS Commissioner during the Kennedy administration, died on Monday, July 15, at his residence in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He was 103.

"It was such a privilege to know and work with Mort while he served on EESI's board. He was accessible, humble, thoughtful, curious, and always helping us be better. Mort was an inspiration and important model of what public service is about," said EESI Executive Director Carol Werner.

Caplin served on EESI's Board of Directors from 2003 through 2012. Probably most famous for his tenure as IRS Commissioner, he was a widely influential tax attorney, law professor, and remarkable public servant with a passion for education.

Caplin was born on July 11, 1916, in New York City. Caplin said his decision to practice law was in part fueled by his upbringing during the Great Depression and desire to create social change.

As an undergraduate at the University of Virginia in the mid-30s, Caplin was a star middleweight on the school’s national boxing championship team and dabbled in acting during the off-season. He then went on to graduate first in his class at UVA’s law school, where he was also editor-in-chief of the Virginia Law Review.

Just as Caplin was trying to launch his law career, World War II broke out. He enlisted in the Navy in 1943, served as a beach master during the D-Day landings in France, and is cited as a member of the initial landing force on Omaha Beach, where his unit stayed for a month.

In 1950, Caplin returned to UVA as a law professor. He also completed a doctorate of law at New York University in 1953.

In 1961, Caplin was appointed U.S. Commissioner of Internal Revenue under President John F. Kennedy. As commissioner, Caplin worked to make the IRS’s reputation friendlier and more positive by focusing more on compliance than punishment and fighting for a more enforceable and equitable tax code. He was also the first commissioner to computerize federal tax returns; the new system was more accurate and began increasing revenue soon after its launch. Under his watch, the IRS also cracked down on organized crime and deduction abuse by executives. Charismatic and politically savvy, Caplin transformed the often reviled role of IRS commissioner into one of great influence, and in 1963 he appeared on the cover of Time Magazine.

After resigning from government in 1964, Caplin co-founded the influential D.C. tax law firm Caplin & Drysdale. He also continued to teach as a visiting professor at UVA—his professorship spanning over three decades.

Caplin was brought onto the EESI board by his good friend and EESI founder and chair emeritus, Dick Ottinger. He served on EESI’s board for 10 years.

As a board member, Caplin had “great influence on the sound fiscal and governance practices that were so instrumental in our continuing recognition as a Four Star Charity by Charity Navigator, as well as our ability to efficiently address EESI’s many policy and educational activities,” said EESI Board Chair Jared Blum.

“Mort was an icon and a true public servant,” said David Robison, EESI Director of Finance and Administration. “I really appreciated his service on our board and particularly his wise counsel to the finance committee when I first started at EESI.”

Caplin also served on the boards of several educational and charitable organizations, including the UVA Board of Visitors, the UVA Law School Foundation, George Washington University, the Board of Overseers for the University of the Virgin Islands, the Governing Council of UVA’s Miller Center of Public Affairs, the Danaher Corporation and the Presidential Realty Corporation, the Peace Through Law Education Fund, and the Hospitality and Information Service for Diplomats. A patron of the arts, Caplin served on the board of Arena Stage, the Community Children’s Theatre, the Shakespeare Theatre, and the Wolf Trap Foundation, and was Chair of the UVA Council for the Arts for over 10 years. He received many awards throughout his lifetime and held several honorary degrees.

Caplin is survived by four of his children, eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

 

Author: Chloe Rogers