By Christina Thompson, National Tax Strike Coordinator, and Pete Mousseaux, National Tax Strike Volunteer
This June, supporters of The National Tax Strike participated in the 22nd Century Institute’s second conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference brought together over a thousand pro-democracy advocates and organizations for four days filled with networking, skill sharing, and inspirational programming aimed at “forging a people-powered democracy.” We joined the conference to learn from the other amazing speakers and to present a strategy session introducing the National Tax Strike tactic. Christina and Pete share their experiences with presenting about the National Tax Strike and participating in an organic breakout session focused on Tax Resistance.
National Tax Strike Strategy Session | Christina Thompson
I was so excited to represent the National Tax Strike (NTS) as a speaker during the day focused on non-violent civil resistance. This day kicked off with an inspiring presentation from NTS supporter and long-time advocate, Daniel Hunter. Daniel encouraged the audience to think creatively and boldly about the kinds of non-violent non-cooperation activities organizers could pursue to fight creeping authoritarianism.
Our session, “Tax Resistance: Tackling the Pillar of Power We’re Afraid to Touch,” introduced the framework for a NTS as a tool for civil disobedience using the resources from NWTRCC. I shared the history and practice of tax resistance, outlined possible win conditions for a NTS, and covered the risks of participation in tax resistance based on the experiences of NWTRCC members.
As expected, when I polled attendees at the beginning of the session, they were not feeling good about paying federal income taxes to this administration. Attendees were dismayed that their tax dollars were being used to fund genocide in Gaza, build concentration camps in the US and abroad, and to support an administration violating people’s civil liberties. By the time I shared the moral and constitutional motivations behind a NTS, most participants were on board and ready to understand how to participate and learn what the risks were.
While there was widespread support in the audience for a tax strike, a small number of people shared concerns, including:
- the risks of striking (specifically that the risks experienced by War Tax Resisters didn’t match the higher level of risk experienced by non-resisters who experience tax issues)
- the impact of a NTS on vital public programs
- how a national strike could inadvertently support Libertarian/Sovereign Citizen beliefs about the role of government.
- The discussion highlighted opportunities to improve our messaging and areas for further research to strengthen our communications. Having stronger messaging about tax evasion versus tax resistance (and their punitive implications), having more data around the punitive experiences of non-resisters, and continually reinforcing the values of community care and mutual aid could strengthen future NTS messaging.
The above video is from NWTRCC’s May conference, but includes a representative from Choose Democracy’s National Tax Strike.
Attendee Breakout Session – Tax Resistance Edition | Pete Mousseaux
I was surprised to learn that the NTS crew wasn’t the only group at the conference thinking about tax resistance. After Daniel’s inspiring plenary, we were invited into small groups to explore specific resistance strategies to address hypothetical authoritarian scenarios playing out in the US.
Out of the many impactful breakout sessions, one impressed me the most — a strategic working session on tax resistance. I was elated. Here was proof that the cause I had been promoting was organically taking root.
Over 20 attendees brainstormed to formulate answers to the following prepared questions:
- How could we signal to tax agencies that people are beginning to get ready to withhold taxes?
- What barriers would we need to overcome for people to become ready for this idea?
- What is the best first step for a campaign like this?
- Map a cross-section of the pillar of taxpaying entities to show how you will move them to participate in forging a better future.
The mood was somber at first. Folks were overwhelmed. The working groups generated more questions than answers.
- How far were we willing to go — only legal methods or illegal as well?
- What about safety concerns — should we keep our activities hidden or was transparency required to get the message out?
- How much participation would make a meaningful dent?
I was impressed with how thoughtfully everyone approached the exercise. These were not accountants or lawyers or professional tax preparers. Yet they were willing to roll up their sleeves and wrestle with W-4 forms.
By the end of the session, the five groups had generated many creative yet pragmatic ideas to address the prepared questions we’d been given:
- Host a game night to popularize the idea of a tax strike and help people process the actions and consequences.
- Use participatory budgeting to show what we collectively spend money on using our taxes.
- Create a grassroots campaign targeting elected officials with the message that our current taxes are a joke!
- Organize a multi-state campaign to withhold federal income taxes
- Create a pledge to withhold taxes to create a broad base for escalating the tactic.
But what warmed my heart the most was a snippet of conversation I overheard as we were leaving: “Shit. When we started… I thought there was no way this could fly. But now I think it’s doable.”
Conclusion
Generally, when engaging with conference attendees formally and informally about the NTS, people understand the rationale, are supportive of the idea, and want to understand the risks and how to participate. Some attendees were understandably skeptical about the risks, and NTS advocates should be prepared to talk about risks within a larger societal context of tax-related punishments. Most importantly, the conference reflected a broader truth: people are independently thinking about tax resistance. NTS advocates should continue to find ways to be where these conversations are happening and be accessible to people looking to learn more.