[Editor’s Note: NWTRCC does not endorse any political party, but we do report and share about war tax resistance. NWTRCC Coordinator Lincoln Rice recently had a conversation with Kymone Freeman, who is the Green Party candidate running for the US House Non-Voting Delegate for the District of Columbia. The following was conversation between Kymone Freeman and NWTRCC Coordinator Lincoln Rice.]
Kymone Freeman. Photo courtesy of Kymone Freeman for Congress.
Kymone Freeman, I see that you have been a war tax resister for the past 30 years. It’s often a specific war that brings someone to war tax resistance. How did you become a war tax resister?
I have always been against war. My father was a Marine and after being shot in the face in Vietnam, losing an ear and half of his hearing, I was forbidden to ever join the military. He was the first to teach me about Muhammad Ali’s anti-war stance. So you could say it all began with the Vietnam War. But it wasn’t until the Gulf War under George H. Bush that I openly began to wonder: How do you stop a war? Being from Washington, DC, I have attended countless marches and protests and haven’t yet seen one put an end to a war. The fascist Alexander Haig was right, “You can march all you want as long as you continue to pay your taxes.” I was first introduced to that quote when I met the late great criminal defense attorney and civil rights advocate, Johnnie Cochran, in 1996 and that’s when I became an actual war tax resister. He was the first to point out to me that “the best way to air your grievances with the federal government was by withholding income taxes.”
Why have you stayed a war tax resister all these years and have there been any repercussions?
When I met Johnnie Cochran during a book signing, I told him how much his words inspired me and that I planned to follow them. He then gave me his card and personal number. When he handed it to me, he didn’t let it go when I attempted to accept it. With both of our hands holding the same card simultaneously, he looked me directly in the eye and told me, “You will have to give me your word that you will go the distance.” Meaning, I wouldn’t get scared if the IRS contacted me or if I caught a case and accepted some sort of plea bargain like over 90% of all criminal cases do in the American judicial system. I gave him my word that I would stay the course. He gave me his word that he would represent me if need be and directed me to call him if the IRS ever prosecuted me. The IRS never did and less than 9 years later, he was gone.
The only repercussions I have experienced as a war tax resister were the initial threatening letters from the IRS for the first 3-4 years. After that, the letters stopped coming. It’s important to point out that I only worked as a salaried employee at the US Postal Service for about 7 years with no federal or state taxes ( is not a State) being withheld. Since that time, I have been working for myself and only receive 1099s. The main problem I’ve faced as a war tax resister is the inability to get direct funding from the US government due to their Clean Hands Certificate, which requires tax clearance. But by incorporating a business, I am able to circumvent the system. Also, during most of my 30 years of resistance and refusal to file, I have been largely silent. Now, that Trump has openly said that the federal government has no obligation to provide social services to the American people, only a strong War Department with a trillion-dollar budget that isn’t subjected to audit, I feel emboldened to openly declare to the world that War Tax Resistance is the only peaceful revolution possible to rein in this rogue, authoritarian regime.
Freeman Flyer that questions payment of federal income taxes.
You are running as the Green Party candidate for the US House Non-Voting Delegate for the District of Columbia and are advocating nonpayment of federal income taxes by DC residents until the DC delegate becomes a voting member of Congress DC delegate becomes a voting member of Congress. Would I be correct in assuming that your own war tax resistance has fueled your idea to promote tax resistance among Washington, DC residents? Please share how this tax resistance campaign came to be?
In DC, the Green Party is known as the DC Statehood Party. And yes, my history of war tax resistance has led to my promotion of tax resistance among DC residents. Educating the over half a million disenfranchised voters about the fact that DC is the ONLY US Territory that pays federal taxes and pays more per capita than anyone else in the country provides the perfect segue to the macro issue of tax resistance that this country was founded on.
Since launching my campaign on April 4th, the anniversary of MLK’s government assassination in 1968 and his anti-war speech in 1967, the calls for tax resistance have grown louder and are quickly becoming more popular in the nation’s capital. My campaign t-shirt even states it plainly: Should DC Pay Federal Income Taxes? We will continue to push tax resistance into the mainstream until the general elections in November as an end to taxation without representation and the only peaceful end to war. Join us. freeman4congress.com