National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee

NWTRCC Latest News

Sheehan Cites Constitution in Refusal to Answer IRS Questions

Sacramento, Calif., Apr. 19, 2012 — War tax resister and peace activist Cindy Sheehan argued in U.S. District Court that she has First and Fifth Amendment rights not to answer IRS questions about her assets. She was assisted in court by her lawyer Dennis Cunningham of San Francisco.

The U.S. Justice Dept. attorney countered that invoking the Fifth Amendment cannot be used to “evade tax payment.”

The court was filled with about 20 supporters including S.F. attorney and war tax resister Tony Serra.

District Court Judge John Moulds, who gave Sheehan and Cunningham a lot of latitude to speak, will making a ruling on June 4.

In the meantime, Sheehan has agreed to meet with the IRS on May 9 to respond to their questions line by line and to file returns, though she vowed “No matter if the government says I owe a penny or $100,000, I’m not paying one penny to them.”

For more detail on the case, see the Sacramento Bee article (4/20/12) with three photos and the Reuters story in the Chicago Tribune (4/19/12) and Cindy Sheehan’s own account of her day in court.

Previously, Cindy has written on her blog about her recent communications with the IRS. Follow the links for each piece:

If you are interested in helping support Cindy Sheehan, send an email to NWTRCC, and we will connect you to others. We will also forward letters of support to Cindy.

War & Funding Fights

Zach Carter of Huffington Post asked NWTRCC and war tax resisters about objections to funding contraceptives compared to our refusal to pay for war. See his Feb. 13 article…

What Friends Say…

Julia Butterfly Hill has ideas about where to invest your “green energy.”

Bishop Gumbleton — In a time when some accumulate mind-boggling wealth, we find hunger and homelessness have increased across every major city…

On Our Site

Check out the “Other Taxes” page and the “Anarchists and War Tax Resistance” page and flyer. We’ve also updated information about the frivolous penalty.

Released from Prison

Carlos Steward was released from the Federal Prison Camp in Montgomery, Alabama, to a halfway house near his home in Asheville, N.C., on December 1, 2011. Hurray! Carlos was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to filing false income tax returns for 2002 and 2003 and failing to file returns for 2000 and 2001. He entered the FPC August 7, 2010, and is very happy to be getting an early release to a halfway house. Carlos did not know about the war tax resistance network at the time he ran into trouble with the IRS , but he’s been grateful for the supportive letters he’s received during his incarceration. He found us by becoming the editor who completed our film, Death and Taxes. For more background on Carlos’s case click here.

Good Reading and Listening

“We must protect conscience from war,” writes Duane Shank on the Sojourners blog. The article includes links to the H.R. 1191, introduced into Congress by Rep. John Lewis (Ga.).

A video of San Francisco attorney J. Tony Serra’s talk at the May 2011 war tax resistance gathering in Oakland.

“The other tea partiers: antiwar tax resisters,” by Steven Short for the Crosscurrents news magazine show on KALW.

Occupy! Resist!

Ruth Benn giving a WTR workshop at Stop the Machine occupation in DC
Ruth Benn gave a war tax resistance workshop
at Stop the Machine! Create a New World!
October 8 in Washington, D.C., the beginning
of the Freedom Plaza occupation in D.C.
Photo by Carol Moore.
Healthcare not Warfare sign
Occupy Wall Street demonstration in Times Square,
Oct. 15, 2011. Photo by Ed Hedemann
Occu-Pie budget sign
On the march from Wall Street to Times
Square, Oct. 15, 2011. Photo by Ed Hedemann
3 antiwar signs
Marching up Broadway to Times Square,
Oct. 15, 2011. Photo by Ed Hedemann

The cry of Occupy Wall Street is “We Are the 99%!” War tax resisters resist some or all of federal taxes because of the 48% of the budget that goes to war, skewing the priorities of the federal government and depriving the 99% of much needed jobs and services. Here in NYC, Occupy Wall Street is full of energy and excitement and the most creative signs and messages we’ve seen in years. While the mainstream media complains about the lack of a specific message, most of us are aware of the interconnections of these issues, and the masses of new activists turn out for demonstrations to protest evictions, deportations, hunger, the death penalty, lack of jobs, war, or whatever is pressing at that moment.

We don’t know where it will lead, but it is wonderful to be in a hopeful moment, a time when people are really trying to figure out how to build a system that cares equally for the 100%. Each occupation around the country is trying to create and live a new style of community—which is reflective of the positive side of war tax resistance, of taking our money from the military and giving it to programs that work for life. Not everyone can occupy the local park, but one of the beauties of war tax resistance and refusal is that you can do it anywhere, anytime—a daily act of civil disobedience.

We would like to hear from you about your experiences with the Occupy Wall Street activity. Send us your reports and photos from “Occupy ______.” Tell us if you have done a war tax resistance talk or workshop to a group there and how it went. What are you learning from the occupations that might influence organizing around war tax resistance. And if you are new to war tax resistance, look over our website, contact one of the individuals or groups close to you, or invite a speaker to come to your community.

Thoreau and War Tax Resistance

Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts on July 12, 1817. Untold numbers have been moved to resistance by his famous essay, “Civil Disobedience,” which was inspired by the night he spent in jail in July 1846 after refusing to pay poll taxes in protest against the Mexican War and the extension of slavery. You can read the essay online (y en español). Lawrence Rosenwald, a longtime war tax resister and Professor of English and of Peace and Justice Studies, wrote about the influence of Thoreau for him personally, and has analyzed Thoreau’s essay more thoroughly in “The Theory, Practice & Influence of Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience.” Wikipedia has a good biography of Thoreau with more links. War tax resister David Gross has collected some of Thoreau’s writings into two volumes, which can be ordered from his website (scroll down the books in the right column). Thoreau’s refusal to pay for war was one famous instance of civil disobedience, but his legacy continues. See NWTRCC’s teaching kit, Thoreau and His Heirs, for more details!

Profile of a Longtime War Tax Resister

Read about the life of Martha Graber in the February issue of The Mennonite, written by longtime NWTRCC network member and supporter Susan Balzer. At 91, Martha’s “Long Life of Witness and Service” is one to honor.

War Tax Resistance History and Tidbits

Dave Gross continues to come up with current and past news items that demonstrate the persistence of individuals to refuse to support war, damn the consequences. Click here for links to articles including profile of Nashua, N.H., resisters Francine Wall and Ruth McKay; Irish resistance refusing to pay the “police tax” in 1884; the current state of the Spanish tax resistance movements; tax resistance in Beit Sahour; and much more!

See NWTRCC’s history pages on this website for an overview of of history from ancient time to current.

WRL’s Piechart Available on Webclick here for the W.R.L. pie chart

The War Resisters League’s analysis of the President’s fiscal year 2012 budget, “Where Your Income Tax Money Really Goes” is now available. An online Spanish version is also available to download.