Larry Bassett 2017
April 18, 2017 Internal Revenue Service Washington DC Copies to US Senator Mark Warner US Senator Tim Kaine US Representative Robert Goodlatte I have happily just passed the ten-month mark of my first year of massive resistance. I mark this new beginning of my life on June 11, 2016 with the death of my father and… Continue reading
Organizing Region to Region: My Travels in Upstate New York
Well, I am back in Philadelphia after a week in upstate New York. Whew! It was a lot of hours on the train and on the road! It was nice, though, to look out the window and see hills, rivers, and lakes. I love Philadelphia, but living in the city I forget the natural beauty of rural… Continue reading
David and Jan Hartsough (2017)
Dear Friends at the IRS, We cannot in conscience pay for the killing of other human beings or pay for war and preparations for war. Human life is too precious to drop bombs on people because we do not like their governments. Developing a new generation of nuclear weapons which could put an end to… Continue reading
Personal connections and growing war tax resistance
Last week, I was explaining war tax resistance to someone new. They asked how I got started. I talked about attending the November 2008 NWTRCC conference in Eugene. Meeting the knowledgeable and caring NWTRCC community, and having inquisitive and inspiring conversations with a variety of people, was my tipping point to start resistance. Likewise, this… Continue reading
Yes, it’s time for a tax strike
A few weeks ago, Truthout published Is it time for a tax strike? A conversation with activist Michael Kink. Kink is executive director of the Strong Economy for All Coalition in New York City. The title of the article refers to to the very last prompt and answer in the interview. The prompt was, “People… Continue reading
Bread or Bombs?
For better or worse, I start my day off listening to the NPR news and then listening/watching Democracy Now! Today’s big story was about the release of two pages of Trump’s taxes from 2005 — more all-Trump-all-the-time. Even his 12-year-old taxes get big notice. However, the reporter who received the leaked forms, David Cay Johnston,… Continue reading
Pleading the Fifth to the IRS
In 1985, the IRS took war tax resister and NWTRCC staff member Larry Bassett to court. Bassett had refused to pay any income taxes since 1980, and had refused the federal excise tax on telephone service since the early 1970s. The IRS wanted to compel him to give up information about his financial accounts so… Continue reading
The latest war tax resistance news coverage
War tax resistance has received more news coverage already this year than in all of 2016. I’m thrilled that we’re being sought out! Many articles are spreading beyond the original source, by being summarized or reblogged on other websites. This is leading to some misinformation that I want to clear up: The National War Tax… Continue reading
What to think about for tax resistance in 2017, 2018, and beyond
Lots of people are looking for the basics of tax resistance — whether against war and violence, the border wall, closing the door on refugees, racism, a mass deportation force, getting Trump to release his tax forms, the Trump agenda in general, having a president that many see as unqualified, or some new executive order… Continue reading
Trump’s wall plans are built on existing border militarization
October 2016: I’m crossing the border to Nogales, Arizona, US by foot, returning from a brief visit to Nogales in Sonora, Mexico, following the SOAW Border Convergence. A tall rusty steel border fence, maybe 20-25 feet tall, lines the border in both directions as far as I can see, dotted occasionally by even taller surveillance… Continue reading
Upcoming Webinars on War Tax Resistance and Redirection
There has been renewed interest in war tax resistance following Trump’s inauguration. Something has clicked in the minds of thousands of people across the country… we don’t want to pay for Trump’s agenda! While many of the reasons people are fed up—extreme militarism, mass incarceration, police brutality, and mass deportations—are part of the foundation of our country,… Continue reading
Musings on Obstructing a Public Way, War Tax Resistance, and More
Why Don’t We Do It In the Road? Musings on Obstructing a Public Way, War Tax Resistance, War Profiteering, Divestment, Livelihood, and Destroying Hundreds of Targets at a Rate of Up to Ten Per Minute by Jason Rawn I was involved in an organized civil resistance action last June 18 at shipbuilders Bath Iron Works… Continue reading