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February 2002
If You Work for Peace, Why Pay for War?

By Mary Loehr

 


Does the U.S. dropping bombs on Afghanistan make your gut tighten? Does the depleted uranium, with which the U.S. has tipped its bombs and dropped onto Bosnia, Iraq and Vieques, make you outraged? Does racial profiling, police brutality, and the militarization of law enforcement turn your stomach?

If you work for peace,
why pay for war?
If you pray for peace,
why pay for war?


We can withdraw our complicity in the killing and violence by refusing to pay for it. We can commit civil disobedience every day by becoming war tax resisters. As with other forms of resistance, it’s best to do this in community—to know others who do it, to be able to talk with them and support each other.

I first became a war tax resister (wtr) in 1983, the first year that I owed taxes, although that year I didn’t technically owe taxes because I made under the federal poverty level. The U.S. government says that when a person’s income falls below the poverty level, they don’t have to pay taxes. So, I made the decision to try to stay under the poverty level in the following years—earning enough to pay the bills, but focusing more on resistance/political work. There were two years in which I made more than the taxable income. In those years, I withheld 50 percent of what I owed because, according to the War Resisters League, each year about 50 percent of the U.S. federal budget goes towards military spending.

Being a war tax resister has given me unexpected freedom. For example, in the moment of being arrested for something I believe in, I feel a rightness and confidence in my choice. I go about living the life that I want to lead, not as a slave to the IRS or to mainstream society’s definition of success.

I’m a wtr because I will not participate in killing. There are many Christians who have chosen this path because of Old and New Testament teachings (e.g., “Thou shalt not kill” or “Love one another as I have loved you”). When Jesus is asked about paying taxes, he replies, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” I take this to mean that we should act in accordance with the authority to which we have submitted ourselves. This sometimes results in the need to disobey the laws of our country in our obedience to Divine Law.

So how does one go about becoming a war tax resister? There are almost as many answers to this as there are war tax resisters! I would suggest turning inwards for clarification. Ask yourself questions such as: Why do you want to be a wtr? What do you hope to achieve by war tax resistance? What would success in your war tax resistance look like to you? What would failure look like? What are scenarios that you would prefer to avoid? If the IRS eventually managed to collect from you, would you feel that your resistance was in vain? To what extent do you want to resist openly? To what extent are you prepared to resist collection? What risks are you ready to take on if you resist war taxes? Do you have enough support for your decision?

Once you’ve sorted through answers to those questions, you’re ready to figure out which method works for you. Again, there is no right way; just what makes sense for you at this time in your life.

Here are some of the choices available:
• Stay under the taxable income
• Include a letter of protest with your income tax return
• Refuse to pay a symbolic amount of your income taxes
• Refuse to pay the military portion, or all of your income taxes
• Don’t file an income tax return
• Inflate the allowances on your W-4 form so that you have control over the amount of money withheld
• Don’t pay the federal excise tax on your telephone bill

Some of the actions listed above are illegal. Each choice that we make carries consequences: war tax resistance shouldn’t be undertaken without becoming informed of the possible consequences. Some forms of war tax resistance carry little or no risk, while others involve potential civil and criminal penalties. Often the IRS will only send notices of taxes due. But the IRS may also attempt to forcibly collect unpaid taxes. They may garnish your wages or take money out of your bank account. This is where having a group of people who support your decision can make a huge difference. That support can make such intrusion into your personal life less threatening, as well as an experience of spiritual growth.

We are not war tax resisters for personal gain. We are doing this for reasons of conscience. Therefore, many war tax resisters take the money that they would have owed and give it to groups that are life-affirming. Some put their withheld money into an escrow account or alternative fund. Usually wtr groups will give away any interest that has accrued, again, to life-affirming groups. This is building the new society in the shell of the old. We are supporting what we believe in and withdrawing complicity from what we abhor.
You probably have more questions. Fortunately, there is an office that can help you. The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC) is a coalition of wtr groups from all over the U.S. It has practical literature about many aspects of wtr and a phone number that you can call to get counseling or information. It can put you in touch with local wtrs with whom you can talk face to face.

Remember, though we are taking risks by resisting war taxes, there are also risks in paying war taxes, such as increased war, increased militarism, decreased resources for human needs, potential violations of international law or religious beliefs, for example. The choice is ours—this April 15, and every day. If you work for peace, why pay for war?

Mary Loehr is the coordinator of NWTRCC. She is a longtime peace and justice activist and is a part of the Ithaca, NY, Catholic Worker. For more information about war tax resistance, visit www.nwtrcc.org or call the NWTRCC at (607) 277-0593 or (800) 269-7464. This is an edited version of an article that was published in The Little Way, in the spring 2001 issue of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker. Reprinted with permission from the author.


Risk Factors


The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWT RCC) stresses that conscientious people who are considering a form of war tax resistance should be as informed as possible and seek counsel from experienced resistors before making a final decision. Withholding taxes from the government is serious business and should not be done lightly and without assessing the risks involved. There are tens of thousands of wtrs in the U.S., so in all likelihood, there’s a counselor nearby who can give insight, support and has contact with the local community of war tax protesters.

It is unclear whether the draconian Patriot Act and the new powers to question, harass, prod, investigate, and arrest that it gives to federal law enforcement will have any negative effects on the lives and civil liberties of war tax resistors. Ed Hedemann—who has been a wtr for 30 years and is a war tax resistance counselor in Brooklyn—admits that the act of withholding taxes pushes the limit of what the government will tolerate, and he speculates that the new laws could have a chilling effect. However, Hedemann commented that at least until now, it has actually been very rare for war tax resistors to be jailed or constantly harassed by IRS or other government officials. In all his years, he told me, he has been threatened with jail only once—for refusing to reveal the sources of his assets.

The NWTRCC can provide contact information for a counselor in your area and has free literature available to help you learn more about the different kinds of tax resistance and the risks involved. —C.C.

 


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