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