December/January 2004-2005

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

Prospects for War Tax Resistance

Ruth Benn is the Coordinator of the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

November, 2004. Activists Hattie Nestel and Marcia Gagliardi have posted this sign on their antique store on Route 2A in Athol, Massachusetts. Photo by Marcia Gagliardi.

Faced with four more years of the "war president" and day after day of horrifying news from Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Sudan, and Colombia, refusing to pay for it all makes a lot of sense. Then, why isn't everyone who's for peace a war tax resister? That is the title of one of the brochures published by the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee. When we ask this question, the responses tend to center on fear of the IRS and going to jail, or "I tried that once and they took my bank account."

While so many peace activists willingly risk jail for a variety of civil disobedience actions, there is something about the uncertainty that goes along with war tax resistance that makes many people more fearful.

The chances of going to jail for war tax resistance are really quite low -- fewer than two dozen people in the last 60 years have been sent to jail for some charge related to their tax resistance. Contempt of court for refusing to follow a judge's order is the most likely scenario, but the last time the IRS took an individual to court was in 1999. He did not go to jail and continues to resist. If you want to go to jail, don't be a war tax resister!

As to the financial risks, these days the IRS does rely on its power to seize bank accounts or salaries to enforce collection of tax debts. (They really would rather not take your house or car; it is far too much bother.) The beauty of war tax resistance is that you can start where you feel comfortable, or you can return to resistance after a collection by refusing the federal excise tax on the telephone or $1, $5, or $100 of income tax -- sums that for people of various incomes may not be so painful even if seized with penalties and interest added.

What are the chances that the IRS will act to garnish wages or bank accounts? It has been many years since an effort was made to survey war tax resisters, but put a bunch of resisters in a room and you will see that collection is inconsistent and may even vary regionally. Often the amount resisted by the group will be well above the total amount seized.

In contrast, what are the chances of getting the government's attention by refusing to pay federal taxes? Pretty high, and as a protest, that should be noted as a good thing. We want to make an impact. We want to make them worry. We want to get attention for our peace efforts. Whatever the amount resisted, the IRS and the government don't like the idea of resistance, so even a small amount resisted can have a big impact.

In addition, we always need to keep in mind that whatever the IRS can do to us is certainly not close to what at least half of our tax dollars are doing around the world.

Before the invasion of Iraq interest in war tax resistance was high -- lots of media attention, lots of calls and emails coming into the office asking how to resist. Then, when the war started, interest dropped off, as it did in the wider peace movement.

However, now there are signs of things picking up again. Besides increasing individual inquiries since the election, we've heard from:

A group in Oklahoma City that has been doing counter-recruitment work but wants to affiliate with NWTRCC and begin to add war tax resistance to their outreach;

A group in Goshen, Indiana that wants to help get a campaign of symbolic resistance going, so that people won't feel so overwhelmed or alone in their resistance;

A group in Oak Ridge, Tennessee that wants to add war tax resistance to its ongoing anti-nuclear activities;

A group in northwest Pennsylvania that has endorsed refusal of the federal excise tax on the telephone and is promoting the "Hang up on war" campaign to its members.

Volunteers at the School of the Americas demonstrations, November 19-21, found unusually strong interest in the war tax resistance table with many serious "how do you do it" questions.

Recent figures indicate that US military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan is costing 5 to 6 billion dollars per month. In January 2004 when the Bush administration released its new budget, they left the costs of these wars out. "It's too hard to predict," they said. This deception should have the American people crying out for the truth, but instead a majority of those voting went out and put these scam artists back in office again.

Each of us feels that we should do more, even while it is hard to break through the relative comfort of our own lives and take another step. For many peace activists, cutting off their direct link to war is the next logical move. Turning our individual resistance into a mass campaign means each tax dollar resisted will carry an even more powerful cry for change to the wider public and to Washington.

More information is available from New England War Tax Resistance, 617/859-0662; National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, 800/269-7464, or nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org; and on the web at www.nwtrcc.org,
www.warresisters.org, and www.hanguponwar.org.

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