Tax Day is almost a month away and there has been a flurry of activities to prepare people to resist paying taxes for war. This week NWTRCC will be hosting another introduction to war tax resistance (WTR 101) on Wednesday March 12th at 8:30 pm EST. Last month we hosted the largest gathering with over 200 people in attendance! There were many questions related to specific situations and wider questions of how to effectively resist war collectively. You can find a list of upcoming events on NWTRCC’s website with links to registration here. Let us know if you are planning something in your community and we can help promote it.
Thursday March 13th will be a panel discussion Who is Afraid of the Taxman?: Reflecting on Militarism and war tax resistance. Join us for a panel presentation on militarism and the history of war tax resistance, and listen to the experiences of war tax resisters from New York City and Virginia. With the help of a somatic guide and in a small group discussion, we will also explore our fears and concerns about war tax resistance. Why do we keep investing in the permanent war economy? What support do we need to make war tax resistance a part of the tool box in dismantling violence while creating peaceful communities?
Zine created by the tax resistance collective
NWTRCC has existed as a network to share information and provide support to people interested in refusing to pay for war. It has been encouraging to witness people finding the information needed from the vast resources compiled by NWTRCC over the years and share it within their communities and networks to welcome new people into the fold. We have witnessed thousands of new visitors to the NWTRCC website monthly, finding information about WTR and sharing that information through zines and articles including Should I become a war tax resister this year?
You can find other media articles on our website here. There are also some WTR 101 videos on our YouTube site. Author adrienne maree brown’s post on Instagram highlighting @wartaxresistance helped plant the seed of refusing to pay for war to many people outraged about the genocide in Gaza; recently posted an Instagram reel about war tax resistance. NWTRCC is grateful for all the people spreading the word about this form of economic boycott!
NWTRRC’s website has a page Action Ideas with organizing ideas for Tax Day or Any Day and tips for organizing an event along with downloadable flyers. Please let us know if you have actions planned in your community around that day by filling out the form here. We also know that there are opportunities to raise awareness of the nearly $900 Billion allocated by the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act daily in your conversations, online and by investing in what you do believe in and value.
One could get a start now by dropping some of the War Resisters League Pie Charts at the library next to the tax forms as someone in the network has done in recent times. Maybe we can share some ideas and inspiration at the monthly Social Hour (register here) this Sunday. We would love for you to join us there or at other events this week!
Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer
