The first obligation of responsible citizenship, I believe, is obedience to one’s conscience. Obedience to one’s government, and to its laws, is very important, but it must come second. Otherwise there is no check on immoral actions by governments, which are bound to occur in any society, whenever power is abused. — Randy Kehler The… Continue reading
[Editor’s Note: A longer version of this article was first published the April 2024 edition of the Agitator, the newspaper of the Los Angeles Catholic Worker.] “‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me’ with napalm, nerve gas, our hydrogen bomb… Should one pay… Continue reading
[Editor’s Note: Robin Greenfield has been challenging people to think about their environmental impacts, their relationship to other animals and plants, and their enmeshment in economic systems for over a decade. Through YouTube videos, TV appearances, books, articles, public speaking, and other cultural work, he shares personal challenges he sets for himself and how he… Continue reading
Hi! I hope all’s well on your end. My name’s Murtaza Nek, I’m a math and science tutor at Henry Ford College in Dearborn, Michigan. I usually file my taxes using online e-filing software, but this time felt the need to communicate a message which wasn’t possible using said software. I’ve thus put in much… Continue reading
NWTRCC will be hosting a Counselor’s Training on Saturday February 17th. The five hour on-line training is open to anyone who has attended an Introduction to war tax resistance session (WTR 101) and would like to have up to date knowledge for themselves and others. If interested in joining please email nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org to register. In… Continue reading
Recently the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists met to share their annual Doomsday Clock. The Council decided to keep the Doomsday Clock, which estimates the probability of a nuclear catastrophe at 90 seconds to midnight. That same time was set a year earlier in 2023, the closest the clock has been set to midnight, the deadline… Continue reading
There’s something of a learning curve to tax refusal. Maybe for some it’s easier than others, but a lot of us started small, increased our resistance over the years, adjusted our lifestyles, or changed methods as needed or desired. A war tax resistance workshop can hit you with a lot of information. NWTRCC and WRL’s… Continue reading
Interest in war tax resistance is the highest I have ever seen it. (I will give the caveat that I was born after the Vietnam War and became a war tax resister in 1998.) I know that the NWTRCC office was bombarded with calls following the US invasion of Iraq after 9/11, but the interest… Continue reading
[Editor’s Note: Ed Hedemann created this post for a portion of NWTRCC’s website in 2015 that no longer exists. With it being the 100th anniversary of War Resisters League this year, it seemed appropriate to re-post it.] Had the War Resisters League been founded a few years earlier than 1923 and was producing its annual… Continue reading
When the largest denomination of Mennonites in the U.S. met in Kansas City for MennoCon 19, H.A. Penner, along with other Mennonite war tax resisters, had put together a proposal that the Mennonite Church U.S.A. renew its Church Peace Tax Fund. The historical peace church had previously established a war tax alternative fund in the… Continue reading
This string came off the war tax resistance listserve, which you can sign up for here. Ask questions, start a discussion topic, like Angie did, or ask for feedback about an issue related to war tax resistance. Angie got it started: I’m starting this thread to see if anyone has any stories they’d like to… Continue reading
Since World War II, the percentage of Federal funds from income taxes that goes to the military in the United States has varied from about 45% to 90%. While spending on the pandemic has skewed the numbers to the lower end, the average taxpayer paid around $2,200 to the military in 2022. While it is… Continue reading
