19 July 2008

Here’s an update about Charles Merrill’s unusual (perhaps unique) tax resistance protest in favor of legal recognition for gay marriage. (See The Picket Line, 19 June 2008).

First off, his trial, which had been scheduled for this November, has been pushed forward to 2009. But more interestingly, well, it wouldn’t be an act of tax resistance for gay rights without a little flamboyance, would it? Here’s the latest:

Merrill, who recently suffered a stroke, said from his wheelchair, “I have buried $2 million worth of gold coins in the desert as a hedge against the economy collapsing. My partner doesn’t even know where it is at.” He continued, “If the IRS allows me to file a joint federal income tax form like any other married couple, the money is there to pay. All they have to do is dig it up. I want to pay taxes, but not treated as a second-class citizen. Gay marriage is not a state issue, as the political candidates McCain and Obama claim, any more than heterosexual marriage is. They need to rescind DOMA and make us equal citizens under federal law. As it stands now, gay married couples are taxed without full representation.”

The 74-year-old artist has been in a relationship with Kevin Boyle for 16 years.

Merrill is a cousin of the co-founder of Merrill Lynch. Prior to coming out as bisexual he was married for 23 years to Evangeline Johnson, the only daughter of Johnson & Johnson founder Robert Wood Johnson.

“Marriage between ‘gender neutral’ couples is legal in California, but our union is not recognized by the federal government, and we don’t get the over 1,000 federal benefits automatically extended to heterosexual couples,” Merrill said Wednesday.

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Ron Paul may have been left in the dust in the Republican primaries, but his supporters are still organizing and holding events, including recently a “Ron Paul Revolution March and Rally” in Washington.

Tax resister Carol Moore reports that this included some fist-shaking in the direction of the IRS headquarters (more video here).

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Yes, there are tax resisters in Canada, including Joshua Goldberg, who just penned a letter to the Canada Revenue Agency explaining his redirection of a portion of his taxes into “Conscience Canada’s Peace Tax Trust Fund” until such time as “our full taxes can be used for peaceful purposes.”

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Thanks to Strike the Root for sending dozens of visitors this way.