Some historical and global examples of tax resistance →
United States →
“Don’t Buy Bush’s War”, 2007–08 →
Jodie Evans
The anti-war activist group “Code Pink” is launching a massive nationwide war tax resistance campaign that aims to get 100,000 people to pledge to resist taxes to protest U.S. belligerence in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran.
We have marched, we have petitioned, we have called and emailed and urged Congress to stop buying Bush’s war.
It isn’t working.
Congress continues to vote billions of dollars toward the occupation of Iraq without any timeline for withdrawal.
It is time for us do what they don’t have the courage to do.
If Congress wants to fund the war with our dollars, well, we’ll simply refuse to give them those dollars!
When our political leaders have not listened to the will of the people, individuals have engaged in civil disobedience.
There is a great tradition of war tax resistance in the United States and it is our time to carry on that patriotic tradition.
When there are 100,000 of us who have the courage to pledge no more money for war, we will join in an act of mass civil disobedience and refuse to pay the portion of our taxes that represents the % we spend on the U.S. military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Join the resistance today — you can make a difference.
The campaign will officially launch .
In Boston, an action at Boston Harbor will be attended by tax resistance pledgers including Cindy Sheehan and Ray McGovern.
In Portland, Oregon, activists will read the Declaration of Independence and perform a recreation of the Boston Tea Party action.
Other actions to launch the tax resistance campaign will occur in cities across the country.
How much of your tax payment this year would you like to allocate for water boarding in Iraq or an invasion of Iran?
Around the world, people are puzzled as to why the U.S. public allows the Bush administration to wage illegal wars and usurp our power.
Why do we tolerate it and continue to pay for it?…
…It is time for taxpayers who oppose this war to join together in nonviolent civil disobedience and show Congress how to cut off the funds for this war and redirect resources to the pressing needs of people.…
There is a great tradition of war tax resistance in the United States.
During the Mexican-American War that began in , Henry David Thoreau refused payment of war taxes and called on others to join him in resistance.
“If a thousand people were not to pay their tax bills this year, that would not be a violent and bloody measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood.”
When Ralph Waldo Emerson visited Thoreau in jail, he asked the author of Walden, “Henry, what are doing in there?”
Thoreau responded, “Ralph, what are you doing out there?”…
…Some might suspect that tax resistance is symbolic and futile.
But we want to purposely put a cog in the machine of war tax collection.
We believe it will lead to a deepening of opposition as tens of thousands of people say, “I can no longer in good conscience pay for these acts by my government.”
Mass war tax resistance, on the scale proposed, has never been done in the U.S.…
The world and history will judge us by how vigorously we resist the illegal and immoral war tactics of the Bush Administration.
My husband, friends and I have decided we can’t pay for war anymore.
What are you doing out there?
Nina Rothschild Utne, chair and editor-in-chief of Utne Reader, writes in an upcoming issue of that magazine that she, too, is enthusiastically joining the campaign:
War tax resistance is far from a new idea. But there is a bold initiative
brewing that has an elegantly simple new angle: There is safety in numbers.
The idea is to get people to sign a pledge that they will engage in civil
disobedience by withholding a percentage of their taxes, but only if a
critical mass of 100,000 signers is reached
.
Activists have spent long hours pushing for election reform, marching in the
streets, and engaging in other forms of civil disobedience against the Iraq
war with seemingly no effect, so clearly a different tack is needed. The
“I’ll jump if you will” approach to war tax resistance just might work.
My friend Jodie Evans, cofounder of Code Pink, is one of those people who
live on the barricades, sleep little, and dedicate most every waking moment
to social change. Her material desires take a backseat to her convictions,
and the ragged pink mules she has worn for years as part of her Code Pink
identity are the laughingstock of her friends. She has been arrested more
times than she can count and has been at the epicenter of many of the most
effective and mediagenic progressive campaigns of the past several decades.
But Jodie is also at home in the most rarefied strata of power. Thanks in no
small part to her, the pledge list will be seeded with participants from
business, Hollywood, and other influential enclaves, and the initiative will
be backed by a strong communications strategy.…
It has been heartwarming to read the comments left by some of those who have signed the pledge so far:
After my son’s second deployment when he related to me the horrors of the
occupation in Iraq, I vowed I would do whatever it took to end it.
As we urge our lawmakers to stop funding the war, we have to be willing to do the same.
It is time we stop funding with our tax dollars.
Tina Richards, founder, Grassroots America
The world and history will judge us by how vigorously we resist the
illegal and immoral war tactics of the Bush Administration.
My husband, friends and I have decided we can’t pay for war anymore.
Jodie Evans, Cofounder, Code Pink
I won’t pay my taxes if you won’t pay yours.
Nina Rothschild Utne,
Utne Reader
We should stop the war, whatever it takes.
If withholding our income taxes
is a way to do it, I am all for that.
Lee Newman, Retired Captain.
U.S. Air Corp, World War Ⅱ
We must stop supporting policies that use our tax dollars to bring
violence around the world.
Not one cent more.
Maricela Guzman, Iraq War Veteran U.S. Navy,
I am one of the majority of Americans who want the war to end and
will be happy to pay my taxes when democracy and the rule of law and the Constitution is restored to our once great nation.
Steve Savitch, Tuscon, Arizona
I increased my deductions to 10 .
I
am so glad for this movement to show me what to do next and for the safety in numbers.
I will no longer help kill people.
andee Scott, Pacific Grove, California
We must renew the American Revolutionary Spirit.
We must have a Velvet
Revolution to save America.
Theadora de Soyza, New Rochelle, New York
If our leaders won’t stop this travesty, then We, the People
must
anonymous, Oregon, Wisconsin
Stop feeding the bush war machine… if he thinks the war is so damn
important why aren’t his daughters on the front lines?
Gina Arcuri, Barneveld, New York
Time to act for justice and do the right thing.
I refuse to pay a war
tax!
Herb Gonzales, Jr., San Antonio, Texas
We must have the courage to take a stand.
If enough of us will take this
stand, I believe this government will listen.
Leo Anderson, Austin, Texas
I will not pay my taxes to support the war in Iraq.
Renata Ahmed,
Brooklyn, New York
As a matter of conscience I will not voluntarily pay my hard earned money
to a government whose daily order of business is waging war.
Michael Zargarov, Houston, Texas
When government is out-of-control, citizens must exert
control.
Den Mark Wichar, Vancouver, Washington
I refused to pay for an illegal war.
It is unconscionable and disgusting
that U.S. Congress continues to fund President Bush’s war-crimes.
anonymous, Ewa Beach, Hawaii
I am so impressed and proud of your actions.
Blessed be.
Vicki
Noble, Freedom, California
I may not have much to withhold, but it’s all worth it!
It’s time to stop
this crap…
Daniel Bryan, Granc Blanc, Michigan
Hell nay, I won’t pay!
Avi Peterson, San Francisco, California
United we stand; divided we fall.
Kristine Abney, Salt Spring
Island, British Columbia
Taxation without representation.
Let’s fight this together and start
restoring democracy.
Shawn DeFrance, Dallas, Texas
Throw the tea into the harbor.
70% of the American people oppose this war.
That constitutes taxation without representation.
It is time to throw the tea into the harbor.
Coincidentally, that is exactly what I have been saying.
Let’s have a tea party.
Bobi Meola, Berkeley, California
We are retired and don’t pay any tax.
I fully support your courageous
efforts to end this bloody occupation.
Chris Caldwell, Anaheim, California
Yes and though dangerous, I pledge to join in not paying the 7%
taxes!
Nat Vance, Muskogee, Oklahoma
I will not pay my taxes if we bomb Iraq.
I will not pay my taxes if we
bomb Afghanistan.
I will not pay my taxes if we bomb Nicaragua.
I will not pay my taxes if we bomb Vietnam.
I will not pay my taxes if we bomb Laos.
I will not pay my taxes if we bomb Cambodia.
Therefore, I don’t pay my taxes.
Dani Visalli, Winthrop, Washington
Spend my tax dollars on the good of the nation, not
war.
Jennifer Chacon, Portland, Oregon
Together we can bleed the war machine dry by using this non-violent civil
disobedience.
anonymous, Modesto, California
Already had planned to put all of my taxes for
in escrow.
Refusing to pay 7% is a good start, but is it really impacting enough?
As Michael Venturi suggests, they will only borrow from the resources for our poor to kill their poor.
The war will continue, and the 7% will be stolen from the ‘lock-box.’
Alan Scouten, Charlottesville, Virginia
Thank you for organizing this.… It is time to act.
CodePink consistently
does excellent work.
anonymous, Olympia, Washington
‘A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military
defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.’
— Martin Luther King Jr.
Thomas Fatone, Brooklyn, New York
Bravo.
I have been advocating for just this to happen for several
years.
Duncan Dow, South San Francisco, California
Cherish the people, defund the military machine.
Doug Mackenzie,
Los Gatos, California
This is a great idea.
Next a national strike!
Claire Chang, Gill,
Massachusetts
I already signed onto NWTRCC’s War Tax Boycott, refused to file for and have quit my full-time job to live below the taxable
threshold.
If Congress won’t defund the war, the last bulwark of democracy, The People, must.
NTodd Pritsky, Cambridge, Vermont
This is a bandwagon that most Republicans should hop onto since they abhor
paying taxes.
Alert everyone you know about this cause there is larger safety in larger numbers.
Laura Martin, Clarkson, Georgia
Let’s protest with our dollars this time.
Maria Kanaan, Chicago,
Illinois
Thank you all!
If Congress wimps out by giving Bush more $$, than we must
not provide it.
Enough!
I refuse to pay for murder.
Friend Burton, St.
Louis, Missouri
Time to defund the war.
Larry Harper, Sebastopol, California
I consider myself in good company — like all the ‘traitors’ who fought off
British control and taxation without representation, who wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Friend Johnson, Cedar Falls, Iowa
Let’s put our money where our mouths are — since Congress doesn’t have the
courage to stop funding war — the people will.
Susan Eleuterio, Highland, Indiana
Things have to change with this disastrous war and administration, and
women will be the ones to do it.
Joni Goodale, Orlando, Florida
In a governmental system based on money and corporate profits, the most
effective form of protest comes from withholding payment of taxes.
Daniel Woodham, Greensboro, North Carolina
Thank You!
It is about time… I am so ready to join those who are ready to
live their convictions.
Tighe Barry, Santa Monica, California
With 50% of the federal budget being used for military purposes, I cannot
in good conscience pay for war while praying for peace.
Lincoln Rice, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
I will refuse to pay taxes for war even if fewer than 100,000 people
pledge because I cannot in conscience pay for these wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Peter Smith, South Bend, Indiana
It’s about time citizens used their green to bring peace.
Heli
Taylor, Los Angeles, California
Not one more dollar!
Deidra Lynch, Orlando, Florida
And this is just from those who have signed up by the beginning of !
Jodie Evans of Code Pink was on KPFK a week ago, talking up the Don’t Buy Bush’s War campaign.
(Here’s an MP3 of the show — the Evans segment starts at about 22 minutes in, and she starts talking about the campaign at about 34 minutes in.)
In all, good stuff.
But some of the message needs work — particularly the part about how war tax resistance isn’t as risky as many people believe it to be.
This message wasn’t delivered in a particularly convincing way, and it used some dubious factoids.
Evans said (I’m paraphrasing from memory) that nobody gets put in jail anymore for war tax resistance like they did in because they’ve changed the laws since then.
The radio host read another factoid from the campaign’s web site that reads “ only one war tax resister has been prosecuted, and he was sentenced to 8 hours per week of community service.”
Neither of those statements is accurate.
In fact, there were very few war tax resistance prosecutions during as far as I know, but there have been four people who have done time for tax resistance , and at least ten .
It is very rare, though.
And typically you have to really want to go to jail — stubbornly refusing many opportunities to cooperate — before they finally throw the book at you.
A war tax resister isn’t at all likely to suddenly be handcuffed and tossed in the back of a paddy wagon without warning.
We have the facts on our side here, but our message has to be credible and clear and convincing, and in this it can’t hurt to be accurate.
“Inspired by the vision of Dr. King, we want to purposely put a cog in the machine of war tax collection,” said Jodie Evans, Co-Founder of CodePink.
“We believe it will lead to a deepening of opposition as tens of thousands of people say, ‘I can no longer in good conscience pay for these acts by my government.’
The tradition of civil disobedience involves breaking a law in favor of a higher law.
It is time to call for this powerful action.”
“I think that as a movement we can’t expect the war to end and at the same time pay its bills every month.
At some point the bill paying has to stop, and then the war will stop,” said Bill Ramsey of the War Tax Boycott Coalition.
I note also that they’ve added some more groups, including United for Peace & Justice, to their coalition.
I don’t see anything about the campaign on the UFPJ site yet, but if they make an effort to promote the campaign to their members, that could make a big impact.
We have refused to pay war taxes . We will never pay for war. How can we? If you pay for it you will have it.
Rev. Don and Roberta Thrustin Timmerman
I could not stop this illegal war, but I shouldn’t have to pay for it!
June Forsyth Kenagy, Albany, Oregon
I knew it was an illegal war from the start and have looked forward to this moment of resistance.
Jack Heller, Topeka, Kansas
I call upon the American people to Resist War Taxes.
Craig Teichen, Chicago, Illinois
The only thing this rich people understand is the almighty worthless dollar. If they think a majority of us won’t pay our taxes for the killings they want, maybe they’ll think again.
Margie Lindsey, San Diego, California
I have been shamefully ignorant of what my country has been up to over the years with money from me. Now I say ‘no more murder in my name’ because I will not support it anymore.… Never again will I knowingly finance murder. I would rather go to jail.
Cliff McCutchen, Liburn, Georgia
I have been refusing to pay my taxes ever . Clearly, I have far more courage than your average American anti-war protester. It is scandalous that it has taken Americans four years to wake up to the idea of refusing to pay the war taxes.
Nabil Shaban, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
I have not, and will not pay taxes until we are out of Iraq and if we bomb Iran!
Chris Magda, North Port, Florida
I am happy to pay my assessed income taxes for peaceful reasons, but not for the war in Iraq and certainly not for further aggression in Iran!
Stephan Maddy Altschul, Monterey, Tennessee
I have had enough — this seems like the next logical step.
Kathy Ingallinera, Sitka, Alaska
This has been waiting to happen. I have been doing this .
Jesse Crumb, Eureka, California
I will not pay one more cent of my taxes to support killing.
anonymous, Holley, New York
No more taxpayers’ money for this immoral war.
Sandra Taylor, Marlboro, New York
Don’t want my tax dollars to support illegal wars started by this (or any) president.
Bret Vanderberg, Los Altos, California
I consider it an honor, and a service to humanity, to actively resist this most terrorist ongoing criminal syndicate in all of our human history, now lodged in power in the United States, regardless of any of its risks or even actual physical costs. Fulfilling this pledge to pay no tax, in order to end this nightmare, in the name of love, to all humanity, is among the least of the things I can now also do. Come on. Come get me.
David Busch, Los Angeles, California
My taxes will not kill anymore!
Connie Bergen, Kennebunk, Maine
No taxes to be paid, no more war to be funded — the choice is the government’s. I am not paying
Jennifer Suzanne Martino, Dixon, California
I have been trying to do this on my own and have not been able to figure out how to do it & pay the money saved to organizations helping the women of Iraq. With no success. So, I’m with you 2000% of the way. Do it.
Kossia Orloff, Durham, North Carolina
Get out of Iraq or I’ll stop paying taxes! Leave Iran alone or I’ll stop paying taxes!
anonymous, Rainier, Oregon
Here are a couple of encouraging signs that the American anti-war movement
might be coming back to life:
A large coalition of anti-war groups are coordinating “a powerful and sustained nonviolent resistance” campaign beginning in in Washington, D.C..
Under this umbrella you’ll find groups like ANSWER, CodePink, National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, Progressive Democrats of America, Veterans for Peace, and World Can’t Wait, and participants like Ann Wright, Bill Moyer, Chris Hedges, Cornel West, Cynthia McKinney, Dave Rovics, Derrick Jensen, Jodie Evans, Kevin Zeese, Medea Benjamin, Mike Ferner, Michael Lerner, and Ted Rall.
Meanwhile, the Come Home, America coalition is trying to make anti-war isolationism respectable again by coalescing a set of anti-war groups from across the American political spectrum around a call to bring American troops home from unsavory foreign wars.
“Signers include advisers to Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton; former presidential candidates of the Libertarian, Socialist, and Green parties, as well as an independent, Ralph Nader; representatives of think tanks such as the Institute for Policy Studies, the Independent Institute, the Future of Freedom Foundation, the Hoover Institution, the Ludwig von Mises Institute, and Just Foreign Policy have signed on.
And editors from a wide range of publications, including The American Conservative, Antiwar.com, Black Agenda Report, Black Commentator, FireDogLake.com, Liberty for All, Liberty for America, OpEdNews.com, The Progressive, Progressive Review, Raw Story, and Reason have all signed on.”
