NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #30/NN_1992_30.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/9327

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Subject: INFO:NYC War Tax Resistance flyer
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Via The NY Transfer News Service * All the News that Doesn't Fit

                      NYC War Tax Resistance

                   REFUSE TO PAY TAXES FOR WAR

         "Let them march all they want, so long as
          they continue to pay their taxes."
                                   -- General Alexander Haig


         War Tax Resistance -- As American as Apple Pie

Today few movements can boast of a mid-eighteenth century origin;
nor can they trace their beginnings to a religious conviction that
eventually grew and extended itself to the secular world. War Tax
Resistance does both.

War Tax Resistance is an instance of political action that has, by
and large, remained outside of conventional politics. As far back
as 1755 at the outset of the French & Indian War John Woolman and
a number of other prominent Quakers set out to persuade the Friends
to withhold the 60,000 pound tax that the Pennsylvania colony --
assessed primarily to pay for the war. Thus began the first group
effort to refuse war taxes mixed with non-war taxes. Indeed, it
might be said that the origins of the war tax resistance movement
lay in this effort, which although unsuccessful, was probably the
first example of a significant social effort to refuse mixed taxes.
Since those small beginnings, out of the conviction of a few
Quakers, the movement, or perhaps more accurately, the commitment
to refuse war taxes, has undergone change. However, the flow of
more than two and a half centuries of committed WTR activity,
albeit by a small number of people, the embrace of its principles
by a major American philosopher, Henry David Thoreau -- all of this
peculiar to our history -- in fact as American as apple pie.


What is WTR?

War Tax Resistance is a movement comprising people from diverse
walks of life who refuse part or all of their income tax and/or the
federal telephone tax, which is historically associated with war.
Some resisters refuse taxes on grounds of religious convictions,
some on constitutional grounds and the right not to kill, some on
the basis of international law, for example, the Nuremberg
principles, and some on the basis of socialist and anarchopacifist
convictions. Many war tax resisters have taken their cases to
court, and although unsuccessful, such cases provide a forum for
resisters to put forth alternative views of the citizen's
obligation to the state, and the reverse, the unmet social and
economic needs of our citizenry.

Their action is directed at the 50-60% of the budget that continues
to finance war. These moneys support the research and development
of new and more destructive weapons systems; they buy the weaponry
stockpiled and ready-to-use in the US or sent abroad to bolster
"friendly" regimes; these moneys make it possible to conduct --
clandestine operations all over the world.

Whatever their mode of refusal, resisters are in agreement about
the need to build a more just and peaceful society. To that end
most refusers contribute their withheld taxes to an alternative
fund. Such funds exist in all major US cities and in many rural and
suburban communities.


What Kind of Support System Do War Tax Resisters Have?

Strong active local groups are essential for the growth of war tax
resistance. In large cities such as New York it is possible to
build a support network. Here we have a defense fund for resisters
should they be forced to leave employment or require legal
assistance. Additionally, we might call for a special support
campaign. Many resisters respond to penalty and interest charges by
joining the WTR Penalty Fund, a Fellowship of Reconciliation
project formed to reimburse qualified resisters for penalties and
interest charges.

Aside from monetary support, and most essential to our survival and
growth, we have a monthly core group meeting that helps resisters
sort out options, and, if requested, provides members to accompany
a targeted resister who has been summoned to the IRS office for an
interview. The core group also funnels information and --
experiences from national and regional meetings and produces an
annual newsletter, New York City Life & Taxes ^ in other words it
acts as a clearinghouse of information and a source of support.


Will I Go to Jail?

Unlikely -- unless you choose to go. About 15-20 resisters have gone
to jail since World War II -- not for war tax refusal itself but for
acts such as contempt of court, refusing to produce documents or to
reveal assets. Such resisters chose to refuse compliance.

That stated, what action might the government take against a
resister?

     *    No action
     *    Unsuccessful action -- statute of limitations runs
          out or resister has no collectible assets
     *    Levy on salary or bank account
     *    Lien on property
     *    Indictment -- only in unusual circumstances


What Do Alternative Funds Do with Resisted Moneys?

Alternative funds act as a means of encouragement and support for
the alternative community. Funded by resisters and people who are
sympathetic to the goals of war tax resistance, such funds award
grants and loans to deserving community groups. In the past few
years, New York City People's Life Fund (an alternative fund) has
concentrated on funding food and shelter for the homeless,
education and support for those with AIDS, expanded education
opportunities for children of prisoners, and a host of other
desperately needed services.

Not only does the Fund act as a visionary instrument in its grants,
but alternative fund moneys are also invested in worthwhile
life-giving projects. Thus both ways, in funding groups directly
and in investing their dollars, alternative funds are
ground-breaking vehicles. Money is working toward change to give
people an opportunity for a better life -- less exploitative,
less competitive, more holistic.


How Do I Begin?

Often prospective resisters begin with acts that are symbolic or of
small risk. Some attend WTR meetings, meet other resisters and
listen to the exchange of information and support before they
decide to dip into resistance themselves. Some begin resistance by
withholding the 3% federal tax on their telephone bills and
gradually building up to income tax resistance.

Prospective resisters are encouraged to attend meetings.

Naturally WTR is an act of individual conscience, but all
resistance is tied intrinsically to the peace and alternative
movements. We create a climate for change; we support worthwhile
projects in the community; we help one another. The fusing of
individual interest into common endeavor is a vital characteristic
of war tax resistance.

For answers to questions, prospective members are encouraged to
review current literature, especially The Guide to War Tax
Resistance, published by the WRL. The Guide includes personal
stories of resistance and does much to answer questions on "What
will happen if I ... ?"

 For further information, contact: NYC War Tax Resistance

 Sallie Marx              or            Betty Winkler
 [phone]                         [phone]




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