Tax Day Approaches: War Tax Resistance News

“Tax Day” is coming up — the deadline for people to file their federal income tax returns in the United States.

NWTRCC is compiling a list of Tax Day Actions that war tax resisters are putting on or participating in.

Other groups are planning protests that attempt to revive the issue of Trump’s taxes — whether or not he pays them, and whether people ought to be able to see his tax returns. Many of these are being organized (or hijacked) by that disreputable species of astroturf organization that tries to redirect dissent and outrage into support for the Democratic Party, but they could be a good opportunity to do outreach to people with an eagerness to be active.

NWTRCC also has a national gathering coming up. The group will be meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, May 5–7. They’re also holding a war tax resisters counselors’ training.

• schedule
• logistics (how to get there, etc.)

A new edition of NWTRCC’s newsletter is out, with content including:

• A look at the increased interest in war tax resistance this tax season. NWTRCC is getting more attention, more press inquiries, and more requests for information than at any time in recent memory.
• Counseling Notes, including this one which was news to me:

  The Wall Street Journal reported recently that the big three credit rating companies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — will begin to remove tax-lien and civil-judgment data from credit reports starting around July 1. This is designed in part to address the problem of inaccuracies in the reports used by rating companies. The data will be removed if it does not include a complete list of at least three data points: a person’s name, address and either a social security number or date of birth. This will improve scores for many consumers, or “expand debt access” as the jargon goes. Many war tax resisters may be among those who see their scores improve. Some readers may question whether “widening the credit box” is a good thing or not, but others may find welcome benefits.

• A look at some of the unfriendly-feedback in the depths of the comments section on recent media commentaries about tax resistance.

Sam Koplinka-Loehr, NWTRCC’s outreach consultant, explained war tax resistance to viewers of Act Out!:

In other war tax resistance news:

• Rob Benvie penned an oversnarked article on war tax resistance, and tax resistance as protest for Vice.
• Another perspective on tax resistance comes from the Barricades.
• War tax resisters in Spain are also out in force this season.