Who's familiar with WAR TAX RESISTANCE??

[Say_What]

and what is your opinion/experience with it?

From the War Resisters League website:

"Believing war to be a crime against humanity, the War Resisters League, founded in 1923, advocates Gandhian nonviolence as the method for creating a democratic society free of war, racism, sexism, and human exploitation."

<clips>

What Is War Tax Resistance?

it is impossible to conduct modern warfare without soldiers and weapons. But before governments can buy weapons and hire soldiers, they must first raise the necessary money through taxes or borrowing. War tax resistance is refusing to pay some or all of those federal taxes that contribute to military spending.

Because there is no tax that goes only to the military, war taxes generally mean individual federal income taxes and as well as some excise taxes (e.g., the 3% federal excise tax on telephone service). Though a case can be made to include Social Security, state, and local taxes, these are generally not considered “war taxes.”

In this era of high-priced weapons systems and military aid to regional wars, taxation is the closest war-making link between the government and most citizens. War tax resistance represents a direct way to say “NO!” to military programs which cost U.S. taxpayers approximately $330 billion annually. War tax resistance is a powerful way to say NO to nuclear weapons and weapons testing, military aid and arms sales, the ludicrous Star Wars missile defense system, covert CIA violence — to say NO to the militarization of the U.S. federal budget. Through war tax resistance you control how your money is spent.

http://www.warresisters.org/what_is.htm

[judy]

1. I am, I used to work with War Resisters League...

WTR, in my opinion is the only true equivalent in the Western World to Gandhi's Satyagraha or "non violent resistance" tactics.

However, just like Gandhi's methods, it is highly dangerous and can bring the wrath of the powers that be on the person who is practicing it.

For me, I could not practice it then as I was not a citizen. If you are not a citizen and practice War Tax Resistance, you will get deported faster than you can say "Smirkolini".

A lot of people I knew did do it though. You have to accept losing possessions as the IRS comes and repossesses everything you own, impounds your paychecks, and makes life hell for you, eventually you can also go to prison.

Just like Gandhi's Salt March, this kind of resistance requires huge amounts of courage and integrity, and a total committment to the cause you are fighting for.

Now that I am a citizen, and I finally have a decent job that I love, I admit that I don't have the nerve to do it.

However, as I said before I recognize that it is the only action I have found so far that matches Gandhi's methods, and that contains the same power and meaning, as long of course as people are willing to suffer the consequences as graciously as Gandhi did, who used to love going to prison and used to say "My prison is my palace", and who had taken a vow of utter poverty.

[Say_What]

2. 'An Act of Conscience"

I became familiar with it when I saw “An Act of Conscience,” on Free Speech TV some months ago. I had no idea they'd been around since 1923. A very well kept secret, because if a movement got rolling it could be devistating for Uncle Sam. I was surprised to learn that so many people practice this form of resistance. In the documentary I believe they interviewed someone who has been doing this for a number of decades!! and the New Englanders in the documentary for sure were very committed to what they were doing.

I agree--it is not for the faint of heart. Thanks so much for your input, Judy :-)

I'll post some clips of the events that lead to "An Act of Conscience" fo anyone who's interested.

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... The End of the “Cold War”
In 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall, followed by the collapse of the former Soviet bloc, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Cold War ended. War tax resisters and others expected a major reduction in the U.S. military and looked for ways to work in coalition with groups calling for a “peace dividend.” However, a little more than a year later, George Bush sent U.S. troops to the Persian Gulf region, and war tax resistance groups were flooded with calls from people saying that they’d “had enough!”

Also in 1989, the IRS seized and auctioned the Colrain, MA, home of war tax resisters Randy Kehler and Betsy Corner; shortly thereafter, the home of resisters Bob Bady and Pat Morse, neighbors of Kehler-Corner, was also seized and auctioned. Within hours, a support committee was formed. Significant articles appeared in newspapers across the country. After their eviction in 1991, the house was occupied by a rotating collection of affinity groups until 1992, when the new owners forced their way in. A continuous vigil outside lasted until the fall of 1993. Throughout this entire period, considerable publicity, actions, and support were generated bringing a lot of attention to war tax resistance, U.S. military spending, and the misplaced priorities of the government. Four years later “An Act of Conscience,” a 90-minute film about the struggle, was finished.

Meanwhile, from 1990 to 1993 the Alternative Revenue Service (ARS) was developed by the WRL and co-sponsored by NWTRCC and the Conscience and Military Tax Campaign. It grew out of a desire, shared by many war tax resisters, to have a nationally organized campaign that would reach out to new communities in a creative way, suggesting that even a token level of tax resistance is a valuable protest. During the 1990-1991 tax season, 70,000 EZ Peace forms – a parody of the IRS’s 1040EZ form – were circulated. About 500 forms were returned and over $105,00015 in resisted taxes were redirected to alternative funds and other groups. By 1993, a decline in interest, made that the last season for the ARS.

http://www.warresisters.org/history_wtr.htm