I was able to claim, nay boast, that this was the only blog on all of the internets to specialize in news, opinions and resources for the conscientious tax resister community. Now I’ll have to be content with being the first: there’s a new kid on the block — War Tax Resistance by Jessica Ramer from Florida.
Posts are somewhat few and far-between, but there are some interesting ideas explored there, for instance:
- Ramer recommends paying cash whenever possible. This has a couple of advantages: First, it allows whomever you are paying to fail to report the payment as income if they choose (with credit cards, the paper trail makes this more risky) and thus lower their taxes. And second, it generates less profits for the credit-card-issuing banks, which Ramer says are among “the most powerful groups in American society, without whose acquiescence the war could not occur.”
- Ramer also advocates charitable donations, not only for their tax deductability but because they “serve to strengthen civil society — the sum total of social activities not connected to the government.”
- Another contributor to the site wrote in with this pithy observation about anti-war protests: “The lack of information among our political leaders about public opinion is not the cause of war — but that is the only problem protesting attempts to solve.”
Ramer is using legal methods of reducing her income tax — what I’ve dubbed the “Don’t Owe Nothin’ Method” here. She writes:
The beauty of tax-reduction strategies is that they are moral on all levels. By saving for retirement with tax-free dollars, you have benefited not only yourself but younger people who would otherwise sacrifice to care for you. Wisely invested, this money can create economic growth and increased prosperity. Charitable donations can be used to strengthen organizations that act as a counterweight to the state and make your community more pleasant and livable. Most importantly, you are not spending your wealth to blow the arms off of Iraqi children.
