I’m excited to be able to share the news that today the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee is launching a new campaign:
The War Tax Boycott
1,500 American anti-war activists were surveyed recently, and they were asked, among other things: “Would you consider participating in a one-year commitment to refuse a portion of your federal income taxes and redirect your taxes to a humanitarian cause if thousands joined you publicly?”
Of those who had never done any war tax resistance before, fully two-thirds said yes. (Of those who had done war tax resistance in the past but were not currently resisting, more than three-quarters said yes.)
So over the last several months, members of NWTRCC have organized just such a campaign. Early endorsers of the campaign include Voices for Creative Nonviolence, the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, and the Nonviolent Direct Action Working Group of United for Peace and Justice.
What You Can Do
If you’re already a war tax resister…
If you’re already a war tax resister, we need you to sign up so we can add you to our roster. If you’re comfortable including your name and home town in promotional material related to the tax strike, check the box on the form to allow this. The more people register, the bigger the campaign becomes, and the more persuasive our numbers are to people who are hesitating, just waiting for the bandwagon to get crowded enough.
If you’re not yet a war tax resister…
If you’re not yet a war tax resister, now’s the time to start. Sign up for the campaign on-line (if you’re not sure whether you’re ready to resist or not yet, just check the box beside “I need more information before I can commit to resisting this year.”) Then read the brief Getting Started in War Tax Resistance guide to learn what steps you need to take now so that you can join us in resisting some or all of your federal income tax , and to learn all about how the government is likely to react to your resistance.
Register, Resist, then Redirect
Once you’ve registered with the campaign and decided how and how much you are going to resist, NWTRCC encourages you to take that money you’re refusing to give to the war funders in Congress, and redirect it instead to a more worthy cause. (If you’re resisting taxes by lowering your income below the tax line, you may not have anything to redirect, but that’s okay too!)
The War Tax Boycott campaign is recommending two charities: The Common Ground Health Clinic in New Orleans, and Electronic Iraq’s Direct Aid Initiative for Iraqi refugees. You can also join with others to redirect your taxes through a war tax resisters’ redirection fund, such as the People’s Life Fund run by Northern California War Tax Resistance. Or, of course, you can always just write a check to your favorite cause.
Whatever you choose, please let NWTRCC know about it so we can keep a running tally of how much money resisters have diverted away from the war and toward worthwhile projects. (If you donate to Common Ground or the Direct Aid Initiative, let them know that you’re donating redirected taxes and they’ll do the tallying for us.)
Spread the Word!
Once you’ve signed up, don’t be shy about it! Let people know you’ve taken a stand. And the next time somebody complains to you about the War or about the government, ask them if they’ve stopped paying for it yet and direct them to http://wartaxboycott.org/.
Here are some resources you can use to help spread the word — including PDFs of the appeal, registration form, getting-started guide, and redirection coupon.
