A few more data points concerning war tax resister Johan Eliot, from an Associated Press dispatch sent :
Prof Refuses to Pay Tax for Armaments
Ann Arbor, Mich., (AP) — Because “Much of my tax money is going to armaments which threaten the world and provide no security for this country or my family,” a University of Michigan professor plans to protest by not paying the balance of his income tax.
In a letter accompanying his tax return, Dr. Johan W. Eliot wrote:
“I stand ready to face prison or whatever other penalties may come from this matter, having determined in prayerful counsel with my family that we must take this course together to resist the evil that tis great country of ours is doing.”
Eliot, an assistant professor in the university’s School of Public Health, and his wife, Frances, are the parents of five children.
Eliot, a Quaker, said his decision to protest was made after the recent raids by U.S. planes on North Viet Nam. He added, however, that “Though the air raid triggered my decision, my protest is not directed solely at the situation in Viet Nam, which is only symptomatic of a foreign policy based on threats.”
“I’m not out to overthrow the U.S. government,” he said, “And I fully realize that they can come and get the money anytime they want it, because the IRS has the machinery to extract funds from anyone with property.”
Eliot said copies of his letter had been sent to President Johnson, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, and members of Michigan’s congressional delegation.
A second version of the dispatch included more details (excerpts):
Dr. Eliot, who gave up practice as a physician here [Ann Arbor] seven years ago to become an assistant professor in the University of Michigan’s school of public health, last week wrote the Internal Revenue Service:
“I am submitting my income tax form this year under great weight of conscience, aware that much of my tax money is going to armaments which threaten the world and provide no security for this country of my family.
“I am therefore refusing to pay that portion of my income tax not already paid by deductions from my salary, and will not voluntarily yield this sum to the government.”
Dr. Eliot estimated that “something over $2,000” had been withheld from his salary during , and that the balance he refused to pay amounted to “something under $100.”
