Some historical and global examples of tax resistance → United States → Vietnam War, ~1965–75 → Writers & Editors War Tax Protest, 1967 → James Leo Herlihy

Penn State University has shared on-line a letter from Ronald Gross to Irving Horowitz from inviting him to join the writers & editors war tax protest — giving us a behind-the-scenes look at how that protest’s impressive list of names was recruited, and at an early draft of the ad text.

Writers and Editors War Tax Protest
Attention: Gerald Walker
145 West 86th Street
Apt. 7D
New York, N.Y. 10024

Fellow Writers and Editors:

Join us in signing the enclosed statement proclaiming our refusal to let our tax dollars support the war in Vietnam. Tell us in writing that we may list your name with ours in ads and statements. Send us your check for $10.00 or more (payable to Writers and Editors War Tax Protest) to pay for advertising and other expenses. Ask other writers and editors to join. Mail copies of this letter and the enclosed statement, “We Won’t Pay” (which will comprise the substance of ads we plan to run), to your own list of colleagues. Extra copies available at $1.00 per hundred, plus 25¢ for mailing.

How we will go about tax refusal

  1. Should President Johnson’s surcharge be adopted by Congress, we will refuse payment. We will not add this extra war tax to our current tax when preparing our return and we will enclose a letter with our return explaining why.
  2. Many of us will also deduct from our tax the 23% which represents the amount currently being spent on Vietnam.

Possible consequences

It is a violation (up to one year in prison and/or up to $10,000 in fines) of Sec. 7203 of the Internal Revenue Code willfully to refuse to pay federal income taxes. However, of the 421 signers of a similar no-payment ad in , not one has been prosecuted and sentenced; of the estimated 1500 additional protest non-payers, none has been prosecuted since the war began. The IRS, so far, has chosen to exercise the power to collect unpaid tax money by placing a lien on refusers’ income or attaching their bank accounts or other assets, when these can be traced. In addition, a penalty of 6% interest is charged annually on the unpaid tax balance, a rate estimated to be less than the collection expense.

Join us.

Initial Signers of the Enclosed Statement

We Won’t Pay

Vietnam drags on. Casualties rise, $28 billion are wasted yearly, U.S. prestige and moral fabric rot away. No solution, political or military, is in view. The President’s prescription is more of the same — 45,000 new men (for a total of 525,000) and a proposed 10% income tax increase specifically for this undeclared, unconstitutional, unprofitable, and unjust war.

“The needs of this country’s riot-shaken cities are being neglected to pay the war bill,” The New York Times has editorialized. It is time for escalation by those who want peace in order to focus on our critical domestic dilemma. Peace marches have not worked; nor have pickets, protest ads, teach-ins, or pleas to the President’s conscience by public figures here and abroad. We are not consoled by reports of atrocities committed by the other side; we want to stop those committed by our side. So we must now go beyond mere expressions of dissent to strong, affirmative, and dramatic action by responsible citizens.

We, the undersigned writers and editors for publications and publishing houses large and small, have not had to give our lives in Vietnam — that has fallen on younger Americans. But we have lent our passive support in the form of our tax dollars. From now on, we are willing to lay our middle-class lives on the line in pledging:

  1. That none of us voluntarily will pay the proposed 10% income tax surcharge, or any war-designated tax increase.
  2. That many of us will also refuse to pay that part of our current income tax (23%) being used to finance the war.

Many of us, too, will give an equivalent sum to humanitarian organizations. Even so, this was not an easy decision to make. We have been law-abiding, tax-paying citizens all our lives, and we are now subjecting ourselves to possible legal penalties of up to one year in prison and/or up to $10,000 in fines for willful non-payment of taxes. But we believe our taxes should not be used to support a war that violates not only our own Constitution but the Charter of the United Nations.

By this act, we aim to awaken the Administration to the fact that a significant number of responsible citizens are so fundamentally opposed to this war that they are willing to go to this extreme. And we wish to show other Vietnam-haunted Americans that there is a simple, swift, effective way to vote no-confidence in the Administration’s policy. It can be done individually or in groups. It cannot wait until the 1968 presidential election. Your ballot is your next tax return, and other ads such as this placed in every newspaper in the land.

There are not enough prisons to hold the millions in this country who, according to Gallup and other recent polls, strongly oppose this ugly war. Time now to end our tacit acceptance of what is being done in Vietnam in our name.

Writers and Editors War Tax Protest

Additional Signers of the Enclosed Statement

  1. Joseph M. Fox
  2. Isabel W. Fox
  3. Andre Schiffrin
  4. Dianne Harris
  5. Janet Schulman
  6. Anne Reit
  7. Hunter Thompson
  8. Erika Munk
  9. Saul Gottlieb
  10. Kelly Morris
  11. John Speicher
  12. Caroline Trager
  13. Eric Lasher
  14. John Hopper
  15. Merle Miller
  16. Howard Zinn
  17. Charles Lam Markham
  18. Hal Scharlatt
  19. Elizabeth Bartelme
  20. John McDermott
  21. Sally Belfrage
  22. John Simon
  23. Selma Shapiro
  24. Ralph Ginzburg
  25. Elinor Langer
  26. Richard Kostelanetz
  27. Thomas R. Brooks
  28. John J. Simon
  29. Walter Arnold
  30. Richard Marek
  31. Tod Gitlin
  32. Frances Fox Piven
  33. Ned O’Gorman
  34. Berenice Hoffman
  35. Bennett Sims
  36. Carl Morse
  37. Jackson MacLow
  38. Dwight Macdonald
  39. Noam Chomsky
  40. James Leo Herlihy
  41. Paul Jacobs
  42. Iris Lezak MacLow
  43. Aaron Asher
  44. Peter Kemeny
  45. David Segal
  46. Thomas D. Barry
  47. Alan Rinzler
  48. Robert Markel

Much of the text of the above declaration didn’t make it in to the final advertisement (I’m guessing it was cut down to make room for the many names of signers, but maybe there was more to it than that). Horowitz himself did not make the list.

, David Welsh of Ramparts sent Horowitz a follow-up letter:

Dear Mr. Horowitz:

I am enclosing a copy of the statement signed, so far, by 220 writers and editors who pledge to refuse payment of the proposed 10 per cent income tax surcharge or any tax increase earmarked for the Vietnam War. At this writing, seven New York Times writers and editors have signed. We plan to run a full-page advertisement in the Times in , giving the quote from Thoreau, the pledge and the list of names. The placing of the ad will coincide with Congressional debate on the tax surcharge. By that time we hope to have 500 persons pledged to refuse payment.

If you would be interested in signing the statement, please fill in the blank and mail it in as soon as possible. And please tell your writer and editor friends about it and urge them to do the same. As Thoreau said, “If a thousand men 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.” During his incarceration for refusal to pay his war tax, Thoreau was paid a visit by Emerson, who asked, “What are you doing in here?” To which Thoreau replied, “What are you doing out there?”

I feel strongly that the collective involvement of writers and editors in the nation’s politics should not stop with the War Tax Protest. Many of our colleagues share this view, and are preparing this fall to organize local chapters of what can become a national writers and journalists association. An organized and articulate “intelligentsia” can be a political force in America as it is in France. And it must become a political force if the increasingly oppressive policies of the present United States government — in Vietnam, in Southern Africa, in Latin America, and here at home — are to be permanently reversed. Not to organize, not to amplify our voices so that an ill-informed America may hear alternatives, is to accede, in effect, to the policies of the present government. For more information, please write me immediately at 377 Green Street, San Francisco, California 94133.

Included with this letter is a somewhat different version of the proposed ad:

How does it become a man to behave toward this American government today? I answer that he can­not without disgrace be associated with it. … In other words, when … a whole country is overrun and conquered by a foreign army, and subjected to military law, I think it is not too soon for honest men to rebel and revolutionize. What makes this duty the more urgent is the fact that the country so overrun is not our own, but ours is the invading army… There are thousands who are in opinion opposed … the war … who, esteeming themselves children of Washington and Franklin, sit down with their hands in their pockets, and say that they know not what to do, and do nothing… They hesitate, and they regret, and sometimes they petition; but they do nothing in earnest and with effect. They will wait, well disposed, for others to remedy the evil, that they may no longer have it to regret… What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn… If a thousand men 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.

— Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience, commenting upon American involvement in the Mexican War.

We the undersigned writers and editors, believing that American involvement in Vietnam is morally wrong, pledge:

  1. None of us voluntarily will pay the proposed 10% income tax surcharge or any war-designated tax increase.
  2. Many of us will not pay that 23% of our current income tax which is being used to finance the war in Vietnam.

Following this was a sign-up sheet, asking signers to agree with the statement “I believe American involvement in the war in Vietnam is morally wrong,” and giving three further options:

  • “As a writer/editor, I wish to add my name to the Writers and Editors War Tax Protest. I dissociate myself from my government’s actions in Vietnam and I am willing to use my next tax return to vote no-confidence in the present Administration. I enclose a check (payable to Writers and Editors War Tax Protest) for $10.00 or more to help pay for running this statement as a newspaper advertisement and for other expenses.”
  • “I am in sympathy with what you are doing. Enclosed is my check for $____.”
  • “I would like more information. Please send me your fact-sheet on tax refusal.”

A number of additional signers had been added to the list by this time:

(Spock was listed out-of-order and in a different typeface in the original.)

While doing some book research today I stumbled on a bunch of documents concerning the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” tax resistance pledge of . I found the documents at The Harold Weisberg Archive:

Item 01 (four pages)
A three-page letter from David Welsh on Ramparts letterhead dated “enclosing a copy of the statement signed, so far, by 220 writers and editors…” and saying that they hoped to run the ad in the New York Times (the Times would turn them down). The letter asks Weisberg to sign on, and includes a couple of Thoreau quotes. It also says that Welsh sees this as a first step towards organizing the American “intelligentsia” to be an organized and articulate political force. The final page lists the signers to that point. Also included is Weisberg’s response in which he complements the Thoreau quote, notes that he signed the pledge and sent it in with a donation, and then goes on for four paragraphs about Kennedy assassination conspiracy research, which was his specialty.
Item 02 (eight pages)
An undated letter from the Protest to “Fellow Signers” noting that “We now have over 350 names” and “hope to achieve, or surpass, 500 by ” so they can put the ad in the Times “.” The letter notes that the anticipated 10% Vietnam War tax surcharge has run into snags in Congress, but still expects a modified version to pass. It also solicits funds, noting that they’re only about half way to the budget they need to place a full-page Times ad.
A second page includes the text of a Thoreau quote and of the tax resistance pledge.
A third page includes a “coupon” that signers can fill out to register their pledge with the Protest office, and begins the partial list of signers. The next two pages continue the list, and then the following page includes “Additional Signers” (including Weisberg).
The last two pages are a “Fact Sheet” explaining the reasoning behind the protest, the process that resisters can go through to make their resistance effective, a summary of the possible legal consequences, the possibility of filing a legal challenge, and the Protest’s willingness to reach out to other groups interested in taking a similar stand.
Item 03 (four pages)
Only the first page is interesting. It’s a hand-drawn invitation to a “Deficit Party” fundraiser “to help pay for our newspaper ad” to be held on “at Betty Friedan’s apartment [at] The Dakota”: “Eric Bentley, Betty Friedan, Paul Goodman, James Leo Herlihy, Larry Josephson, Dwight Macdonald, Gloria Steinem, [&] Gerald Walker invite you to join them, and all the other signers of the Writers and Editors War Tax Protest…”
Item 04 (two pages)
The first page is the last of a three-page list of pledge signers (the first two pages are missing); the second page is a list of “Additional Signers” with marginal notes indicating that the number had risen to 309, and then to 324.
Item 05 (four pages)
A letter from Lawrence M. Bensky & Gerald Walker of the Protest to “Fellow Signers” dated . It notes that Congress did not institute the expected 10% income tax surcharge by tax filing season, and so if people want to resist, they’ll have to choose the other option, which was to refuse to pay some portion of their ordinary income tax: “we urge you to do so. Obviously, the effectiveness of our action hinges on the number of participants.” It notes that 50 more people have signed the pledge since the ads appeared “in Ramparts, The New York Review of Books of , and The New York Post of ” which brings the total signers up to that desired 500 threshold.

Hundreds of people have written us to request tax-refusal information; many of these were non-writers and non-editors who were sufficiently impressed to follow our lead, and these information requests continue to come in without any sign of tapering off.

The letter notes that contributions have been coming in as well, but proposes not to spend any more money on advertising, but to keep the funds in reserve in case the government retaliates against any signer, so as “to focus publicity on such cases; and where a case offers the opportunity to press a legal test of the government’s right to ‘draft’ our money for Vietnam, we will contribute to the costs of legal defense.” The letter then recommends that people look into the newly formed “Tax Resistance Project of the War Resisters League.”
The next page lists some sympathetic organizations, discusses the possible government retaliation actions against signers, and includes a coupon resisters could send to the War Resisters League if they want to be included in their coordinated tax resistance action.
The next page gives “some facts about tax refusal and its consequences” including a how-to guide giving several options for how to resist.
The final page announces a protest to be held at the IRS headquarters in Washington on :

Join us in an act of collective tax resistance. Bring your completed tax return, form 1040, or a statement explaining why you’re not filing, and together we will return forms and statements accompanied by either no money or an insufficient amount of money. The action at IRS will be preceded by a public meeting nearby. Dr. Arthur Waskow of the Institute for Policy Studies and Dave Dellinger, Chairman of the National Mobilization Committee, will be among the speakers.

We act because for many verbal opposition to the war in Vietnam is no longer enough. Resistance has become necessary. Our consciences dictate it. The young men resisting the draft have shown a way and we who are not subject to the draft must develop creative parallels. Tax resistance is such a parallel act because it confronts the administration directly and challenges it at a vital point. It liberates the tax resister by showing him that he does have choices.

Item 06 (two pages)
A Washington Post clipping dated  — “Marchers Protest War Taxes” concerning a protest of about 40 people at the IRS Building. Protesters included Barbara Deming, Dave Dellinger, William C. Davidon, Arthur Waskow. The article includes a photo of Waskow and of protesters marching with “Don’t Pay War Taxes” signs, but the copy quality is low.
Item 07 (one page)
A letter dated from Eric Bentley, John Leonard, Peter Spackman, Gloria Steinem, and Gerald Walker to “Fellow Signers” about “how best to wind up the group’s affairs.” They plan to donate the group’s remaining funds to the Civil Liberties Legal Defense Fund, which has made a reciprocal agreement to give legal assistance to any Protest signers who run into trouble in the coming year. “The Writers and Editors War Tax Protest was always a temporary organization, and its limited goals have now been achieved. We remain pledged as individuals, however, to the moral and financial support of any of our number who is prosecuted or harassed because of non-payment or simple membership.”

WEWTP certainly added its bit to the anti-war clamor which produced the current atmosphere and the many swift changes that have taken place in it. We ended up with 528 signers. And if there were that many strongly anti-war people from one small area of American Life, surely the political computers in Washington were capable of extrapolating that figure to the population as a whole. So [President] Johnson got the message. Thanks for lending your voice and your name to ours.

The “current atmosphere” of changes since the start of the Protest project included the abandonment of the 10% income tax surcharge plan, the Tet Offensive, the resignation of Secretary of Defense McNamara, Johnson’s decision not to run for another term, and the opening of peace negotiations.
Item 09 (one page)
A press release from the Protest dated . At this time, the Protest had attracted 437 signers, and “at least one-third” of these had pledged not only to refuse to pay any war surcharge, but also “not to pay the 23 per cent of their current income tax which is being used to finance the war in Vietnam.”

The protest was announced today at a press conference in New York’s Algonquin Hotel, traditionally a gathering place for New York’s literary world. Three writers and three editors spoke for the group: Eric Bentley, drama critic, professor of Columbia, and author of several books on the theater; James Leo Herlihy, well-known novelist and short story writer; and Sally Belfrage, author of “Freedom Summer.” Publishers included Richard Grossman of Grossman Publishers; Aaron Asher of Viking Press; and Arthur A. Cohen of Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

One of the group’s organizers announced that today’s advertisement had been rejected for publication by seven major newspapers before being printed by the New York Post. The New York Times, where ten of the advertisement’s signers are employed, twice rejected it, the second time after the advertisement had been changed to meet their earlier objection. Other newspapers which refused to accept the prepaid full-page advertisement were The Boston Globe, the Washington Post, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Christian Science Monitor, the National Observer, and the Chicago Tribune. A spokesman for the Writers and Editors War Tax Protest expressed regret that the nation’s press, “which is so quick to condemn violent demonstrations, actually encourages them by frustrating conscientious expression of dissent from our actions in Vietnam.”

Item 10 (one page)
A newspaper clipping dated that, in the form of an article about the ad, essentially reproduces it, including the complete list of signers. It is unclear what newspaper the clipping is taken from.
Item 11 (one page)
“Writers Vow Tax Revolt Over War” — a news clipping from the Washington Post. It gives the number of signers as 448, and explains that the Post refused to print the ad “on the grounds that it was an implicit exhortation to violate the law.”
Item 12 (one page)
A letter from Lawrence M. Bensky & Gerald Walker to “Fellow Signers” dated . It gives the number of signers as 450. “Two months have been spent dickering with the NY Times (where 11 of the signers work), which has just refused an ad revised to meet earlier Times objections.” (Harding Bancroft of the Times eventually said: “the advertisement was turned down by the Times in accordance with our general policy that we do not accept advertising urging readers to perform an illegal action.”) The letter notes that some signers have wondered why the Protest continues to stress the 10% surcharge which by now is looking less politically viable. Finally, the letter announces the above-mentioned “Deficit Party.”

The FBI was nice enough to take careful notes at a war tax resistance protest that took place in Washington, D.C. on , and write up what they saw. Seems that the government does sometimes pay attention to protests.

Tax Resistance Action in Washington, D.C.,

An advertisement in the , issue of “Village Voice,” a weekly newspaper concerning activities in Greenwich Village, and other sections of New York, N.Y., was captioned “Tax Resistance Action in Washington, D.C.” It stated the Catholic Worker, Resist, Writers and Editors War Tax Protest, and the War Resisters League would sponsor the activity at , at the Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C. (WDC).

This advertisement indicated the peaceful action at the Internal Revenue Service would be preceded by a public meeting in Judiciary Square, Fourth and E Streets, N.W., WDC, at Dr. Arthur Waskow of the Institute for Policy Studies; Dave Dellinger, Chairman of the National Mobilization Committee (to End the War in Vietnam); Harold Tovish of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Barbara Deming, an author; and Professor William C. Davidon of Haverford College would be among the speakers at this public meeting.

On , a confidential source, who has furnished reliable information in the past, made available a flyer published by the Tax Resistance Project, War Resisters League, 5 Beekman Street, New York, N.Y., calling for support of the activity on . This flyer asks participants to bring their completed income tax return or a statement explaining why they are refusing to file a return. It is stated that these returns and/or statements, accompanied by an insufficient amount of money or no money at all, will be turned in to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), WDC, at .

A copy of this flyer is attached.

The publication, “Washington ’68” describes the Institute for Policy Studies, 1520 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W., WDC, as an institution created to serve as an independent center of research and education on public policy problems in WDC.

The National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam was formerly known as the Spring Mobilization Committee (SMC).

The SMC is described in the publication entitled “Communist Origin and Manipulation of Vietnam Week (),” a report by the Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives. On page 53, the report states in part, “Communists are playing dominant roles in both the Student Mobilization Committee and the Spring Mobilization Committee.”

A second source, who has furnished reliable information in the past, as of , identified Arthur Waskow as a member of the Steering Committee of the Washington Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam, an outgrowth of the SMC.

A third confidential source, who has furnished reliable information in the past, reported on , that during a symposium in New York City on , David Dellinger, editor of Liberation magazine, identified himself as a pacifist, advocated a communist society, and said, “I am a communist.” However, he pointed out that he was not a “Soviet-type” communist.

On , Professor William C. Davidon was a participant in a program on Radio Station WEAU, Chicago, Illinois, concerning “Peace Walks.” During this program he admitted being a sponsor of the Committee to Secure Justice for Morton Sobell (Committee to Free Morton Sobell) (CFMS).

A characterization of the CFMS is attached.

An article appearing in the issue of the “Cape Cod Standard-Times,” a daily newspaper, Hyannis, Massachusetts, stated that Barbara Deming returned to the United States the previous day after spending eleven days in North Vietnam. She accused the United States of waging a war of terror against a civilian population.

On , Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation observed approximately fifty-five people gathered in Judiciary Square, WDC. At approximately , Professor William C. Davidon, acting as master of ceremonies, opened the program by stating that a large number of people are not paying taxes because their money is being used to kill in Vietnam. He estimated that four thousand people are not paying the telephone tax.

Professor Davidon then introduces Arthur Waskow as a representative of Resist. Waskow described Resist as a group encouraging and supplying funds to those who refuse to kill. Waskow said they were assembled to uphold the law. He said that the war in Vietnam is illegal, and that the crime is in the White House and executive offices, not in the streets. He claimed that the President and the Secretaries of State and Defense are the ones violating the law.

Waskow further stated that the President has helped wreck the dollar with the war in Vietnam. He urged those present to uphold the economy and the law by withholding that portion of their income tax that is paying for the “obscene” war. Waskow also felt it is illegal for IRS to collect money to pay for that war.

The next speaker, Harold Tovish, stated the Johnson Administration has alienated the youth of today with lies and a foul war. He said that the youth of America wants a life that is worth living, and he was not certain that life today is worth living. Tovish also said they had gathered in WDC to show that they cannot tolerate the type of life that has been formed for Americans today.

At approximately , the majority of the group left Judiciary Square and walked to the Constitution Avenue entrance of the IRS building. About fifteen carried posters reading, “Don’t Pay War Taxes.”

Beginning at about , Barbara Deming spoke to the gathering. She said she believes in government of, by, and for the people, and stressed how little tax money is spent for people. She claimed the United States is saying to the Vietnamese — let us self-determine you or we will have to destroy you. Deming stated the lives of the Vietnamese do not belong to the Government, and that she refuses to pay her taxes to deliver these lives “up to Caesar.”

An individual identified as Wally Nelson stated that in he affirmed that no human being should be killed and indicated he has refused to pay taxes since that date. He said that rational people should not pay for slaughter, and should not allow a portion of their taxes to be used for that purpose. Nelson stated that any government that prides itself on killing people owes its people an apology. He indicated he will continue to refuse to pay taxes.

James Leo Herlihy, a novelist, spoke briefly about the inflated cost of killing people you do not really hate. He said that at one time it cost $14,000. to kill a person during a war, but that now that cost has risen to $234,000.

David Dellinger spoke of refusing to pay taxes to a government that tortures, kills, and maims people. He stressed the need for door to door contact to ask people how long they are going to be willing to pay for killing.

Professor Davidon then read what he said was a telegram from three doctors in Cambridge, Massachusetts, supporting their action against IRS.

At approximately , a delegation of seven of the demonstrators was admitted to the IRS Building to meet with IRS officials. This delegation said they were prepared to deliver “thirty envelopes” to IRS.

Whle waiting outside the entrance one ⸺ ⸺ of Connecticut state an associate has been harassed by IRS since for not paying taxes, and that he, Hayworth, is now suffering the same harassment. [Probably Neil Haworth―♇]

A ⸺ from the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area, and ⸺ of Princeton, both spoke briefly against paying taxes to support the illegal war in Vietnam.

The demonstrators passed out literature of the War Resisters League. One leaflet captioned, “Resist Vietnam War Taxes,” states that about 67 percent of taxes collected by the Government go for war and preparations for war, and that about 23 percent goes for the war in Vietnam. Another captioned, “Hang Up on War! — Telephone War Tax Refusal Campaign,” urges refusal to pay the ten percent telephone tax.

The delegation that had been admitted to the IRS Building at about left the building at approximately , and the demonstrators dispersed shortly thereafter. There were no arrests or incidents during this demonstration.

On , Mr. Ray Brennan, Internal Security Division, Office of the Assistant Commissioner, Inspection, IRS, advised that the following were admitted to meet with Deputy Assistant Commissioner Leon C. Greene and a representative of the IRS Baltimore District Office:

  • David Hartsough
  • Arthur Waskow
  • Barbara Deming
  • William Davidon
  • Wallace Nelson
  • Harold Tovich
  • David Dellinger

A copy of an IRS news release dated , concerning the activity on that date is attached.

The attached flyer announcing the action was a typewritten sheet with a crudely-drawn headline:


Tax Resistance Action in Washington, DC

Internal Revenue Service Headquarters, 12th St. & Constitution Ave.

Join us in an act of collective tax resistance. Bring your completed tax return, form 1040, or a statement explaining why you are not filing, and together we will return forms and statements accompanied by either no money or an insufficient amount of money. The action at IRS will be preceded by a public meeting at Judiciary Square, 4th & E St. N.W., Dr. Arthur Waskow of the Institute for Policy Studies and Dave Dellinger, Chairman of the National Mobilization Committee, will be among the speakers.

We act because for many verbal opposition to the war in Vietnam is no longer enough. Resistance has become necessary. Our consciences dictate it. The young men resisting the draft have shown a way and we who are not subject to the draft must develop creative parallels. Tax resistance is such a parallel act because it confronts the administration directly and challenges it at a vital point. It liberates the tax resister by showing him that he does have choices.

Total refusers, partial tax refusers, and telephone tax refusers will all be there. Join us.

That flyer then listed the sponsors (Catholic Worker, Writers & Editors Tax Protest, Resist, and War Resisters League) and included a tear-off section that could be returned to War Resisters League headquarters for people who wanted more information or transportation options. It encouraged recipients to also sign this pledge: “I dissociate myself from my government’s actions in Vietnam and therefore I am not paying all or more portion of my income taxes. Signed:…”

The IRS press release, also attached to the FBI report, was mostly uninteresting. It snidely contrasted the protesters with “[t]he overwhelming majority of taxpayers [who] carry out this obligation of citizenship in a conscientious manner” and also suggested that the protesters were part of a tiny movement, most of whom would ultimately buckle: “In a relatively few cases, IRS has had to enforce collection against tax protestors. Most have paid when asked and some who failed to pay voluntarily notified the IRS where the taxes could be collected from their bank accounts.”

Get Yourself a Peace. Seventy cents of every 1969 tax dollar went to pay for the costs of America’s past wars and the War in Vietnam. You spend $400 yearly on the Vietnam War. Where was your peace, and how can you go about getting it? Tax resistance is what some people have decided to do for peace. They have kept the 10% Federal Tax on telephone bills. All of this tax is allocated to War costs. Customers who have refused to pay, and submitted a written explanation to the telephone company, have not had their service discontinued. Telephone officials simply forward these messages to Internal Revenue. Others have declined to pay the 10% surtax, all of which was levied in 1968 to pay war costs. And a few people have withheld the percentage of their tax that supports the Defense Establishment. These funds, placed in an escrow account, generate income used to promote and support human resource projects. The time has come for you to get a peace. A form of tax resistance could get you a big one. For more detailed information, contact: Boston War Tax Resistance…

from the edition of Cycle

The edition of Cycle, a student paper from Fitchburg (Massachusetts) State College, gives us a good peek into the rhetoric and tactics of the war tax resistance movement at that time:

If a thousand men were not to pay their tax bill 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.

Henry David Thoreau

A Call to War Tax Resistance

In , the United States government spend $103 billion to pay for present and past wars and to be prepared in case of future wars. This was 66% of the entire federal budget of $156 billion. One hundred and three billion dollars exceeds the gross national product of all but six nations.

Of this $103,198,100,000, $29 billion was spent on the Vietnam war, to continue a conflict whose brutality, immorality, and illegality have sickened most Americans and the vast majority of the people of the world. Already, this war has brought death to more than 42,000 Americans and more than two million Vietnamese. It is a spur to the arms race and continually threatens world peace.

Almost $20 billion will be invested this fiscal year in making more frightful our nuclear missile and bomber arsenal, weapons already so destructive that they can deliver ten tons of explosive power for every person on the globe.

$330 million will be spent on chemical and biological weapons that are polluting the environment and endangering the people in the United States and other countries without even being used; simply by being improperly stored.

$7.5 billion will go toward research on new and yet more fearful weapons.

$1.2 billion has been authorized for the Anti Ballistic Missile (ABM) system in .

$500 million to $1 billion is the estimated budget of the CIA.

Vast sums will be paid to the corporations and research institutes that design and build the weapons. In , the following companies, a handful of the biggest among thousands engaged in war production and research, enjoyed these military contracts:

General Dynamics$2.2 billion
Lockheed Aircraft$1.8 billion
General Electric$1.4 billion
United Aircraft$1.3 billion
McDonnell-Douglas$1.1 billion
AT&T$777 million

The following amounts were spent in for projects that seem to have little to do with primary human needs:

For moon and other space exploration $3.4 billion.

For farm subsidies to wealthy landowners $3.1 billion.

In comparison to the enormous expenditures for acts and instruments of military violence, luxury space programs, and subsidies to the wealthy, and at a time when city governments are crying for more funds, the United States government spent these sums on improving the health, education, and general welfare of the people within this country.

Slum rebuilding $1.9 billion.

Other poverty programs $7.2 billion.

Health programs $1.8 billion.

Educational programs and subsidies $3.7 billion.

Direct, nonmilitary foreign aid to underdeveloped countries totaled about $1.6 billion.

The U.S. appropriation to the United Nations was $109 million, about the cost of one Polaris submarine.

In , the total of all non-military expenditure was approximately 34% of the military expenses.

Throughout the United States, young people by the hundreds of thousands are rebelling in disgust and anger against this squandering of resources on war, and neglect of the day-to-day practical needs of the people. They are not alone in seeing only massive social disruption and probably nuclear war as eventual consequences. They are risking their freedom, careers, and often their lives to protest and resist what they see to be wrong.

In the face of this shameful and alarming situation and in solidarity with the youth resisting it, we, as participants in War Tax Resistance, are resolved to confront our own complicity in war, waste, and callousness. We resolve to end to the extent we can our cooperation in a federal tax program geared to death more than life. The least measure of our resistance will be not to pay voluntarily $5 of federal taxes due.

We are prepared to bear the consequences of our actions, be these criticism and unpopularity, financial penalties, confiscation of our bank accounts and property, and, perhaps, imprisonment. These seem to us small inconveniences beside the agony of those killed or bereft by war, and the numb hopelessness of those crippled by poverty.

We invite all Americans to join us in some form of tax refusal. War tax resistance is not always easy, particularly for those whose taxes are withheld from their wages, but for most there is some variety of tax refusal that they can conscientiously adopt. It may be by not paying part or all of a balance “owed,” or by not paying federal telephone tax. War Tax Resistance has prepared literature and is setting up counseling services designed to help each individual find the best way of tax refusal and resistance for him. A list of Methods of War Tax Resistance follows this statement of purpose.

We also are developing a war tax resistance promotional program that will include advertisements, demonstrations, meetings, a bulletin, and other literature distribution. If you become a war tax resister, we hope you will allow yourself to be publicly identified with the movement and permit your name to be used on tax resistance literature.

War Tax Resistance will do more than concentrate on the weeks just before April 15. We are planning a year round educational and resistance program. If you agree with conscientious tax resistance as a means for opposing war, we hope you will communicate with us now. The included coupon is for your convenience.

Methods of Refusal

Refuse to pay at least $5 of your tax
The first goal of War Tax Resistance is to convince as many people as possible to refuse at least $5 of some tax owed the government. Nearly everyone can do this by refusing their federal telephone tax or part of their income tax. If hundreds of thousands refuse to pay $5, they will establish mass tax refusal. Besides having the burden of collecting the unpaid amounts, the government will be faced with the political fact of massive noncooperation with its warmaking policies.
Better yet, refuse to pay all the taxes you can
Even if some of your taxes are withheld, you can refuse to pay the balance and other taxes. These might include: taxes on additional income, the 10% surtax, and the telephone tax.
You can refuse to pay that percentage of your tax that goes for war
Two thirds or more of the federal budget pays for wars past, present, and future. To protest against war, a person can refuse that percentage of his tax. He can base his refusal on the percentage of the total national budget used for war, on the cost of the war in Vietnam, or on other calculations. Some people pay part of their tax and contribute the rest as a peace tax. Some give to the UN, or a relief agency, or some other organization engaged in peaceful, constructive work.
You can refuse to pay the 10% surtax
This surtax was imposed in to help pay for the war in Vietnam. Refusing to pay it is a direct protest against the war.
You can refuse to pay the federal telephone tax
The federal telephone tax was revived in to help pay for the war. Thousands are already not paying it. In all cases known to us but one, the telephone companies have continued service and referred the tax collection to IRS.

To Reduce or Eliminate the Withholding of Your Taxes You Can

Claim additional dependents

If you claim a sufficient number of dependents on your W-4 form you can reduce the amount of taxes withheld from your salary to zero. The law reads that a dependent has to live in your household and be supported by you. The fact is that many people, particularly draft age young men and the Vietnamese, depend on you. So long as you declare at the end of the year that by the government’s standards you owe so much and are refusing to pay it, the moral point is made

The law reads that it is illegal — fraudulent — to state on a tax form that someone claimed as a dependent falls within that category, as defined by the IRS, when he does not. But no fraud appears to be involved if the people claimed as dependents are identified as being outside the IRS categories. The issue has not been tested in the courts.

Make your employer an ally
Although the law reads that it is illegal not to withhold taxes from an employee’s wages, your employer may be sympathetic to your protest and be willing to assist — and make a protest of his own — by not withholding from your salary. It is always valuable to raise the question.
Organize an employment agency
Have your agency hire you and then have your present employer hire the agency to supply him with you. Naturally, an agency that you control will not withhold taxes from its employees. Getting organized is complicated, but if you and a few friends get together you can work out the problem. Write us for information.

Also You Can

Demand a refund
There are four ways to do this:
  1. You may request a refund right on the 1040 form and stand a good chance of receiving it. Ask for a tax credit on Part Ⅴ of the form.
  2. You may file form 843 for a refund.
  3. If the above demands are refused, go to the Income Tax Board of Appeals. If the Board turns you down, sue.
  4. You can also sue the government to refund all your taxes on the grounds that the taxes have been used for illegal and immoral purposes.
Protest by letter or in person
Any protest to IRS or other government officials will help express opposition to the war and to militarism. If you are unable to refuse taxes, protest them as vigorously as you can.

Maximize the Impact

Talk about your tax refusal with friends, neighbors, co-workers. This sort of direct contact changes many minds. Distribute tax refusal literature.

Inform the newspapers and other mass media in your neighborhood that you are resisting war taxes and why. Start a war tax resistance group in your community.

Organize or join demonstrations at your local IRS office.

Inform yourself thoroughly and become a tax refusal counselor. Let your community know through ads, leaflets, etc. that a counseling service is available.

Keep the War Tax Resistance Clearinghouse informed by writing or phoning about your activities. Communication is the lifeblood of any movement.

We invite war tax resisters to send War Tax Resistance the first $5 or more refused the federal government. This money will be used to publicize and expand the war tax resistance movement.

Until now, the government has not imprisoned anyone for conscientious tax refusal. A few have been given short sentences for refusing to reveal information about their incomes. In general, the IRS has been content to take money from tax refusers’ bank accounts, garnishee part of their wages, or, on rare occasions, seize and auction property.

Sponsors of War Tax Resistance

  • Winslow Ames
  • Joan Baez
  • Norma Becker
  • James Bristol
  • Prof. Noam Chomsky
  • Prof. Frank Collins
  • Tom Cornell
  • Prof. William Davidon
  • Dorothy Day
  • Dave Dellinger
  • Barbara Deming
  • Ralph DiGia
  • Prof. Douglas Dowd
  • Prof. Margaret Eberbach
  • Ruth Gage-Colby
  • Allen Ginsberg
  • Bob Haskell
  • James Leo Herlihy
  • Faye Knopp
  • Kennett Love
  • David McReynolds
  • Stewart and Charlotte Meacham
  • Rev. and Mrs. Arthur G. Melville
  • Karl Meyer
  • Jack Newfield
  • Grace Paley
  • Igal Roodenko
  • Rev. Finley Schaef
  • Dr. Benjamin Spock
  • Marj and Bob Swann
  • Arthur Waskow
  • George and Lillian Willoughby
  • Irma Zigas

Working Committee (in formation)

  • Norma Becker
  • Maris Cakars
  • Frank Collins
  • John Darr
  • Jerry Dickinson
  • Ralph DiGia
  • Bob Haskell
  • Neil Haworth
  • Peter Kiger
  • Kennett Love
  • Bradford Lyttle
  • Mark Morris
  • Christopher Pollock
  • Melinda Reed
  • Kay Van Deurs
  • Eric Weinberger
War Tax Resistance, 339 Lafayette Street, New York, N.Y. 10012, Phone (212) 228-0450. ☐ I would like to join War Tax Resistance. ☐ I am not ready to join W.T.R., but please place me on your mailing list. ☐ Please send me more information about the following methods of war tax resistance: (blank) ☐ Pleas send me (blank) additional copies of A Call to War Tax Resistance (6 for 25¢; 30 for $1). ☐ I am already resisting war taxes (on a separate sheet please list the taxes you have not paid, since which year, the consequences to date, and any other pertinent information). ☐ You may use my name in publicizing W.T.R. ☐ I am interested in becoming a W.T.R. counselor; please send me more information. Enclosed is $(blank) to support the work of W.T.R. Please send copies of this Call to the attached list of people. Name (blank), Address (blank), Telephone (blank)