The leftover money had been destined for La Liga Contra el Cancer (the League Against Cancer), but the trust fund's legal adviser, Stanton Levin, said Wednesday that it owed the IRS $92,000.
The three trustees of the fund have met several times in the last week and finally came to the conclusion that the IRS wants the money. They say they will try to convince the IRS that money is tax-free.
"Can you imagine if after all this, the U.S. government is the one that gets to keep all this money?" said trustee Eloy Gonzalez, who is not related to Elian.
The attorneys in the case worked pro bono, but the fund was established in March to pay their expenses.
Levin said he would try to convince the government the money was a gift and therefore nontaxable. Donations ranged from $1 to $10,000.
"The issue is whether or not the money donated by people should be viewed as a gift or income for a cause they could get something in return for," Levin said.
"We haven't had any contact with the IRS, but this falls under the tax rules of any other trust fund. It all depends on how they interpret it," Levin said.
Elian Gonzalez, floating in an inner tube, was rescued at sea on Thanksgiving Day, 1999. His mother drowned when the boat they were using to escape Cuba for Florida capsized.
He was placed in the care of relatives in Miami, and they fought to keep him. But in April he was seized at gunpoint by federal agents and returned to his father, who, after overcoming all legal hurdles, returned with him to Cuba.
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