Tax Day Press Release 2020

Hi NWTRCC friends and supporters,

Below is our press release for tax day. Feel free to adjust it for your own use. If you are having a tax day action, but have not alerted the NWTRCC office, please email the details to nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org, or use the online form. As stated in the press release, we are asking war tax resisters to make their present felt online on April 15th, by posting the call: “Don’t Pay for War!” and using the hashtags, #NoTaxes4War and #NWTRCC. You can post a picture of yourself with a homemade sign or use the ready-made graphic, which can be found here. When posting a picture or graphic, please let folks know they can find out more info about WTR at nwtrcc.org and also write in, “#NoTaxes4War #NWTRCC.” Writing these “hashtags” with your message will mean that anyone can find your post on Facebook or Twitter by searching “#NoTaxes4War” or “#NWTRCC.”

In Resistance,

Lincoln

Press Release 2020

Tax Day 2020

For Immediate Release: April 9, 2020
National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC)
Contact: Lincoln Rice, Coordinator
800-269-7464 (262-399-8217) or nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org

Tax Day Protests Demand End to the War on the Environment
War tax resisters redirect tax dollars from the Pentagon to People

Calling for an end to endless war on people and the environment, activists are calling for funding for people and the planet. Thousands of people across the United States—from San Diego to Manhattan—are pushing an online protest campaign on Wednesday, April 15. In this past, local actions featured public hearings on an immoral budget, flying kites instead of drones, and “Burma shave” sign displays during rush hour. These actions may be re-instituted on July 15, the day on which taxes and tax forms are due this year. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, these activists will make their present felt online on April 15th, by posting the call: “Don’t Pay for War!” and using the hashtags, #NoTaxes4War and #NWTRCC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The proposed federal budget for fiscal year 2021 aims to take our country in the wrong direction. Noticeably missing in Trump’s $3.5 trillion proposed budget is any mention of funding to combat climate change. Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency would face a 26% decrease in funding with 50 programs facing elimination. This is worsened by the fact the U.S. military is the number one institutional user of oil in the world, burning about 240,000 barrels of oil each day. The U.S. military can afford to exert this environmental harm because approximately 50% of federal income taxes are directed to past, present, and future military spending.

This massive proposed budget also includes about $2 trillion in cuts to safety net programs like Medicaid, student loan programs, federal housing assistance, food stamps, and federal disability insurance.

This is all in addition to increased funding for the militarized Custom and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which terrorize our immigrant communities with raids and inhumanely separating families. Additionally, the Department of Defense has already transferred $4.3 billion in military equipment to local law enforcement agencies. Militarized police are deployed more in Black, brown, and indigenous neighborhoods and often act like an occupying army.

Often forgotten is the growing use of drone warfare. According the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, there were 1,878 drone strikes during Obama’s eight years in office. During Trump’s first three years in office, there have been 11,760 drone strikes. Since 2002, there have been 8,850 to 16,800 drone deaths, including 900 to 2,200 civilian deaths.

The explicit focus of federal income taxes being utilized for the killing of human beings and the destruction of the environment while programs to address human needs face steep cuts is unacceptable.

Not waiting for the government to act, many activists will openly refuse to pay their taxes to the IRS and will instead redirect those funds to humanitarian programs. Bill Glassmire of Corvallis, Oregon, says, “I am resisting war taxes in order to redirect resources away from U.S. militarism and routine violence and toward building a peaceful and healthy earth.”

In Berkeley, California, members of Northern California People’s Life Fund will redirect $50,000 in resisted war taxes. They received grant applications earlier this spring and will announce the names of the groups receiving $2,500 grants around April 15. They prioritize “essential day-to day human services which the government is not adequately furnishing, together with educational or other work that identifies and seeks to change the root causes of the problem.” The group was founded by war tax resisters in 1971 to pool their resisted war taxes. People’s Life Fund member Susan Quinlan says, “There are so many excellent groups that are working to protect families, communities, and the natural environment, and we are delighted to support these efforts. With U.S. military spending surpassing $1 trillion, we invite others to imagine what good could come from redirecting these military funds on a grand scale.”

The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC) has coordinated tax day actions since 1983. NWTRCC is a coalition of local, regional and national groups providing information and support to people who are conscientious objectors to paying taxes for war. NWTRCC partners with the Global Days of Action on Military Spending coordinated from Barcelona, Spain to join protests of war spending in the U.S. with a demand for global disarmament and a shift in priorities to sustainable development.

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Resources:

War tax resisters are available for interviews. Please contact NWTRCC, 1-800-269-7464, nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org, for contacts in your area.

“Where Your Income Tax Money Really Goes” — War Resisters League pie chart, https://www.warresisters.org/resources/wrl-pie-chart-flyers-where-your-income-tax-money-really-goes

Global Day of Action on Military Spending, http://demilitarize.org/

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism — Drone Warfare
https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/projects/drone-war