 March 2005
American Friends Service Committee Peacework Magazine Sara Burke, Pat Farren, Founding Editor 2161 Massachusetts Ave. Telephone number: Fax number:
pwork@igc.org Peacework has been published monthly since 1972, intended to serve as a source of dependable information to those who strive for peace and justice and are committed to furthering the nonviolent social change necessary to achieve them. Rooted in Quaker values and informed by AFSC experience and initiatives, Peacework offers a forum for organizers, fostering coalition-building and teaching the methods and strategies that work in the global and local community. Peacework seeks to serve as an incubator for social transformation, introducing a younger generation to a deeper analysis of problems and issues, reminding and re-inspiring long-term activists, encouraging the generations to listen to each other, and creating space for the voices of the disenfranchised. Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC. |
Peace Tax Return to Protest War The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee is a 22-year-old coalition of groups who provide information about war tax resistance and support for those who refuse to pay some or all of federal income and excise taxes because they help pay for war. NWTRCC, PO Box 150553, Brooklyn, NY 11215; 800/269-7464; www.nwtrcc.org Thousands of US taxpayers opposed to the war in Iraq are using a new "Peace Tax Return" as a means to protest the spending of their federal tax dollars for the war.
The "Peace Tax Return 2004" has two options, either of which may be sent to the IRS or an elected official. The first option (Part A) is for people who will be paying their taxes but want to make a protest. For those who willing to go further, the second option (Part B) is for those who will be refusing to pay some or all of their federal income taxes, despite possible consequences from the IRS. A third part of the peace tax form, which is to be returned (anonymously if desired) to NWTRCC, will allow the organization to track its use, measuring the extent of the protest. The Peace Tax Return is modeled on a return produced by Conscience, The Peace Tax Campaign in Britain, one of many groups around the world who are lobbying for legislation that would allow conscientious objectors to war to pay their taxes into a special fund that would not be used by the military.
For copies of the Peace Tax Return, visit
www.nwtrcc.org (where you can download a printable copy) or send
a self-addressed stamped envelope to NWTRCC. A Sample Letter to Congress in Support of the Peace Tax Fund For more information contact the National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund, 2121 Decatur Place NW, Washington DC 20008; www.peacetaxfund.org. Dear Representative/Senator, I am trying my best to obey both the duties of citizenship and the demands of my conscience. I am conscientiously opposed to participation in war, yet I am required to fund the military every time I pay my federal taxes. Advanced weapons do violence not only by their incredible destructive powers. They also cause devastation in our communities by draining essential financial resources needed to address basic human needs. Approximately 31 cents out of every federal income tax dollar will pay for current military purposes in Fiscal Year 2005. It staggers my mind to contemplate what this nearly $600 billion dollars could do to alleviate human suffering and thus reduce the likelihood of future wars. Please do not misunderstand -- I am not opposed to paying taxes. I seek a way to pay 100% of my taxes without violating my deeply held beliefs against participation in war. I urge you to enact the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Bill when it is introduced in the new Congress (It was HR.2037 in the 108th Congress). This bill would allow conscientious objectors to military participation to pay their federal income, gift, and estate taxes into a fund earmarked for nonmilitary governmental purposes only. Since 1940, US law has allowed conscientious objectors to military participation to perform alternative service rather than be conscripted into the military. This law should be extended to allow alternative service for my drafted dollars. Thank you for considering my request. 
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