Friday, April 14, 2006
An Open Letter to the IRS:
The purpose of this letter is to present my decision to withhold further payment of Federal Income Taxes to the IRS and the U.S. Government.
I am withholding paying the balance of the 2005 taxes that Form 1040A indicates I owe for the following reasons. Please read and consider what I have to say regarding the corruption of the Constitution of the United States of America by the current administration, starting with the President of the United States, George Walker Bush, and his selected and appointed cabinet and advisors and including the Congress of the United States of America and the Supreme Court. Until the lies and deceptions of this administration are addressed openly and candidly by Congress and the corporate-controlled media, I refuse to pay any further taxes. I recognize that there may be consequences to this decision, and it is my decision to stand on principle and state my position to the IRS, Congress, the media and any person who may read this.
This may be a long letter because I have much to say about my refusal to pay further taxes in support of a corrupt and immoral government and the individuals who direct its policies. You, the reader, will decide how much you choose to read and how you feel about its content. I cannot cause you to make a decision, one way or the other, about your taxes or how you do or do not support this government. I can express my feelings and motivations for taking this action and be fully responsible for both the decision and its consequences. We live in a world in which each of us is individually responsible for everything that comes to us, regardless of how we judge it. I believe that my choice, being based on my own values of a universal consciousness of which we are all a part, will have an impact beyond my immediate community simply because we are all aspects of that One Universal Consciousness. May Peace Prevail on Earth.
I have watched the wealth of this country channeled into the destruction of hundreds of thousands and even millions of lives, without respect for the innocence of those being affected. Further, I don’t even believe there are those who are guilty and deserving of being killed, maimed or deprived of the basic human rights of life, liberty and happiness while there are others we deem as innocent. All of us have One Source and are made of One Substance and have been endowed with an individuality and free will upon which we base all of our choices. At any given time, each of us will awaken to the realization of our unity of Spirit, and begin to make choices in the context of our shared humanity and as stewards of this planet and all of its inhabitants, both sentient and non-sentient.
The government of the United States of America has undertaken a policy of global domination based on the erroneous belief that we are, because of our alleged position as the only legitimate Superpower in the world, entitled to dictate the policies and practices of the rest of the sovereign nations and peoples of this planet. Without regard to the humanity of the rest of the people and the environment of this planet, we (the government) have chosen to expend astronomical amounts of money in the pursuit of immoral and illegitimate policies, to the detriment of most of the rest of the world. From the killing and destruction in Iraq, Afghanistan and numerous other sovereign nations, to the pollution and raping of the environment so we may maintain “our” way of life, this government has lost any legitimate right to represent me and expend my tax dollars in the pursuit its illegal and immoral policies.
Millions of Americans (I use that term advisedly) are living in poverty, without adequate healthcare, and all of us, whether citizens, legal residents or undocumented persons, are subject to a deteriorating infrastructure of roads, bridges, levees, utilities and clean water and air. At the same time this government is using current tax dollars and borrowing from the next two or three generations, to fund wars and extralegal policies around the world, and neglecting the needs of this country and its people. It is further contributing to the irreversible pollution of the planet with irresponsible policies on global warming, decimation of rain forests, wetlands and the extraction of natural resources from the land without consideration of the long-term effects of these policies. As I listen to the news of what is occurring around the planet, I am struck by the sheer immensity of the denial of most of the people of this country to what is being done in their name and with their money. Much of this I attribute to the irresponsibility of the mainstream news media to report the whole truth, factually and explicitly. Yet, back to my basic premise of each of us being responsible for our experiences, I accept my responsibility for this lack of full disclosure of what is happening. That is one of the reasons I am taking this action to refuse to pay further taxes to this government, and making a public statement to that effect. I will continue to support those causes and people who are working for peace and the healing of the planet in ways I feel are most effective. I will continue to express my opinion in ways that inform others and encourage each person to think about who they are and how they can contribute to a better life for all, regardless of who they are or where they live.
I understand we don’t have a tax system that allows for individuals to select how each dollar is spent, and that is not what I am advocating. I am calling for a system that funds responsible and life-sustaining programs, locally and globally. That is not happening, now, so I choose to make a stand for a new way of doing taxation.
This letter is written as an open letter to the IRS and will be distributed to my Congressional representative, U.S. senators, state representatives, various media outlets and personal friends and acquaintances. I know that many will not agree with me, and some may find this irresponsible and foolish. Change does not come easily and requires someone to step into the void of the unknown and see what happens. Faith is the experiment that becomes the experience. I have faith that my experimental action will create a new experience for me of standing on principle and accepting full responsibility for my actions and beliefs.
I give thanks that there is still a place for principled dissent, and that what I have to say may affect others in a positive way. Regardless of the outcome, I have said what is in my heart and release this into Universal Consciousness, knowing that the outcome of this and any related decisions is for the Highest Good of All Concerned. And, so it is.
In Peace,
John E. Phillips RScP
