Ed Hedemann wrote this account for the Nonviolent Activist, journal of the War Resisters League. You can get additional information at the following web address: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/hedemann/IRS_court_case.htm.

They looked like Jehovah's Witnesses. Brooklyn gets a lot of them door-to-door; after all, it is their world's headquarters. A white man and a black woman, neatly dressed, carrying briefcases. How was I to know?

I had been working on the computer early last December when the doorbell rang. As I answered it, the man said "Remember me, Mr. Hedemann? Mr. Valicenti from the Internal Revenue Service," as he was shoving a large brown envelope towards me through the gate. I was being served with an "order to show cause" entitled United States v. Ed Hedemann on why I should not be "compelled" to turn over all financial documents to the IRS regarding my assets, liabilities, and so forth from the past couple of years.

Briefly: I have a hearing before a US District Court judge scheduled for March 5. If I lose the hearing and do not turn over the papers to the IRS-and I will not-I could be held in contempt which may result in an indefinite period in a federal prison. Out of thousands of war tax resisters in this country, only nine have gotten such an "order to show cause" in the past 30 years.

A War Tax Resister for Decades

I've been a war tax resister since 1970 when I deliberately hooked up a telephone so I could refuse to pay federal taxes going to the Vietnam war. As a graduate student at the University of Texas in Austin, I didn't earn enough to owe income taxes until 1972. Ever since, I've taken the entire amount of my federal income taxes and sent it to other organizations-private organizations that would actually help people rather than help kill them.

In all the years I've been a war tax resister-almost 30 now-I've never received papers ordering me to appear in court, nor have I had to face the prospect of being sent to prison for my war tax resistance.

Most years the IRS routinely sends threatening letters demanding payment, calls or visits me at home, delivers levies to clients (as an independent contractor, 1099s alert the IRS to the people I work for), drops off liens at the registrar's office of my county looking for property I don't own (and, not coincidentally, tries to wreck my credit rating), and searches for bank accounts.

The IRS Rears Its Ugly Head

But I suppose it really began with my appearance on "CBS This Morning" in 1995 representing the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee. Not long after that interview, I received more attention than usual from the IRS. For about a year, the IRS vigorously pursued present and former clients not only to try to seize money owed to me, but to force these clients not to use my services any longer. One major client folded under intense IRS pressure (which included threats to audit them over the previous eight years) to "fire" me. The IRS told this client that their primary interest was not so much to collect from me as to force me to go to them on their (the IRS's) terms and that they "will chase him [Hedemann] down wherever he goes ... [he has] many years worth of noncompliance on his record and has to be dealt with."

This attitude is similar to what happened to Bobby Hieger of New York City, who also received an "order to show cause" about ten years ago. The IRS agent pursuing him left the following message-in a menacing voice-on his answering machine: "This will never end until you come down to the office and pay us the money. You understand what I'm saying? So give me a call and come down to the office or your headaches will keep going. Okay? Bye."

Despite their efforts, the IRS never collected a penny or forced me to deal with them. Consequently, that particular investigation was put into what the IRS calls "status 53"-case closed as uncollectible. In fact, most of the years I've been a war tax resister have either been "status 53"-ed or have exceeded the statute of limitations (currently 10 years beyond the date of IRS assessment of a tax owed).

IRS Shifts Strategy

The new IRS agent who took over my case in 1997 escalated tactics by serving me with a summons to appear in his office in January 1998. I went as scheduled but only produced WRL's "Where Your Income Tax Money Really Goes" tax pie chart rather than the financial papers the summons demanded I bring. The interview was terminated after five minutes when I explained that I could not produce any records because it could assist him in collecting money that would be used by the military.

Shortly after, I received another summons, this time from the legal office of the IRS. They wanted me to appear before the same agent about five weeks later. Once again I appeared with the WRL pie chart, and once again the agent terminated the interview after about five minutes. It wasn't until nine months later that I was served with the "order to show cause."

Despite the thousands of war tax resisters in this country, only a dozen or so have received summonses-the prelude before being served with court papers-in the past two or three years, and only nine, as far as I know, have received an "order to show cause" over the past 30 years. Of the nine, four ultimately served 40 days to two-and-a-half months in jail for contempt of court. The other five won by citing the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination from turning over any papers to the IRS.

Going on the Offensive

It was December 11 when the papers were thrown through my gate, I had only ten days to respond in writing and nine days after that to appear in court. I applied for a month's postponement and the judge rescheduled my hearing for February 1 and January 21 to submit a written response. In essence, my response cited four reasons why I should not be "compelled" to turn over documents to the IRS: 1) the Fifth amendment (something the anarchist in me was reluctant to do), 2) the tax has already been paid (however not to the IRS), 3) turning over the papers could result in more money for the military which is something that I as a pacifist could not do, and 4) this effort by the IRS appears to be a case of selective enforcement in that most people aren't "honored" with this kind of attention from the IRS. I attached an "Exhibit A" to the court papers: the WRL pie chart.

Then on January 26, the government requested another postponement in order to deal with my response. The hearing in US District Court (in Brooklyn) is now scheduled for Friday, March 5. If the judge decides against me, I'll probably be given some amount of time to turn over my records before being held in contempt. This particular flavor of contempt-civil contempt-is especially insidious because unlike criminal contempt, civil contempt can mean jail for an indefinite period of time. For example, Susan McDougal's refusal to testify in the Clinton Whitewater inquiry has resulted in two years of jail because of civil contempt.

This last-minute change in the hearing date was too late to reschedule the WRL leafleting and protest set for Feb. 1. So we went ahead with flyers, signs, banners, and a table with a "penny poll" set up in the busy court enclave of downtown Brooklyn. The poll consisted of ten jars labeled with different federal programs. Passersby were each given ten pennies to distribute in the jars as they saw fit. About a hundred people participated, many with intense deliberation and enthusiasm. In the hour and a half we were set up these were the results: education 23%, health care 23%, housing 12%, environment/energy 9%, income assistance 7%, nutrition 7%, national debt 6%, mass transit 6%, foreign aid 4%, and military 3%.

WRL and others are preparing flyers about the case, contacting press, and working to develop a presence in the courtroom. We see this as an opportunity not only to provide support against government threats but to focus attention on the military policies and misplaced priorities of the United States, and promote resistance to them through education, demonstrations, and refusing to pay war taxes.