By Susan Van Haitsma Imagine that you are sitting on a lawn chair atop a straw stack bordering a beautiful organic garden in the heart of Iowa. You are watching a golden harvest moon rise above the rows of corn that stretch out in front of you rustling like a sea of applause. The straw… Continue reading
Profiles of War Tax Resisters
Pointing To Another Way
by Stanley Bohn The Why As war tax resisters the why-we-do-it shapes the what-we-do. Since our reasons for not paying part of our federal income tax are not to avoid all taxes, my wife Anita and I use probably the least clever ways to resist taxes. We reduce our taxable income by giving as much… Continue reading
The Making of an Activist
by Peter Smith I was a product of the 50s: Civil Defense drills, the Red Menace, McCarthyism, super patriotism, Korean War, etc. I joined NROTC in college so my parents would not have to pay my tuition and books. I had two younger sisters they needed to send to college. I did not like Navy life and… Continue reading
The Choice Seems Obvious
by Rev. Bucky Beach It was over 20 years ago that I started nonpayment of taxes owed to the IRS. I was scared, but youth breeds a sense of immortality, which was accompanied by a bit of a chip on my shoulder and a desire to be faithful to what I believed. I did some research and… Continue reading
My War Tax Resistance Journey
by Carol Moore In 1975, while living in New York City, I was involved in radical feminism and political comedy, song-writing and play writing. I started supporting myself working off the books. Come April 15, 1976, I found that I owed the IRS more than $1000. I worked double shifts for two months to raise the money…. Continue reading
Conscientious Objection and Encounters with the IRS
James Satterwhite, 1946 – 2016 “If we could read the secret histories of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.” —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow In 1969, as I was graduating from college in Florida at the height of the war in Vietnam, I faced a dilemma…. Continue reading
War Tax Resistance and Me
by Aaron Falbel In December of 1990, I became a war tax resister. Shortly before the Persian Gulf War (#1), I attended a peace rally on the Boston Common. Despite the impassioned speeches given by Howard Zinn, Daniel Ellsberg, and others that day, I had a sinking feeling that standing out in the cold for… Continue reading
A Statement to the IRS
by Charlie Hurst and Maria Smith Charlie Hurst and Maria Smith, two Catholic Workers and war tax resisters living in Cleveland, Ohio, have had their wages garnished in the past. When they received a notice from the IRS this summer saying that they had a right to ask for a hearing, they decided to do so. They… Continue reading
Wally Nelson: A Revolutionary Inspiration
Written by Bob Bady Wally Nelson died on May 23, 2002. He died in much the same way he lived his life: without fear, and surrounded by people who loved him. Wally was born in 1909 near Little Rock Arkansas, son of Duncan and Lydia Nelson. He was the second youngest of sixteen children. His… Continue reading
My War Tax Resistance Actions
By Priscilla Adams When I left college in 1974, I joined the Movement for a New Society and earned below a taxable level, filing W-4s as exempt. When I began to earn enough to owe money, I refused to pay 100% and continued to file W-4s as exempt. After a paycheck was garnished I stopped… Continue reading
