NO PAYMENT ENCLOSED: WHY I RESIST WAR TAXES
Ayvazian, Andrea
NO PAYMENT ENCLOSED Why I resist war taxes BY ANDREA AYVAZIAN When I first heard about war-tax resistance, it seemed to me that it was something for hard-core, committed activists. It was...
...The IRS does not ignore us...
...Every war in our history, as well as every period of "peace" when our Government was preparing for war, has had its tax resisters who recognized that engaging in conscientious civil disobedience against unjust policies is a patriotic act...
...Could you please make this quick...
...Some friends criticized me for "cooperating" with the IRS by giving it access to the money...
...It doesn't want a middle-aged woman like me to fight its wars, but it does want and need my tax dollars...
...He wasn't sure this was a good idea, but I insisted that I needed to tell him about my war-tax resistance...
...The point of my war-tax resistance is not to wear my suffering like a badge...
...Finally, it seizes money or property...
...We live in an era when we house our missiles better than we house our people...
...Part of my reason for choosing war-tax resistance is the simple understanding that to wage war, the Government needs people and money...
...While the number of IRS-identified protest returns is still relatively small, the growth rate is alarming...
...It was interesting to see his file on me strewn across the table—the leaflets, clippings, fliers, and articles I had sent him over the years all jammed into a manila file-folder along with 1040 forms and bank statements...
...Americans have been persuaded that "nothing is certain but death and taxes...
...By withholding even a few hundred dollars a year, I am forcing the Government to notice me, to deal with me, to assign a person to try to coerce me into complicity...
...That is all good stuff—the stuff that a movement is made of—but sometimes we can't help but feel that nobody is paying attention...
...After eight years, it is a challenge to find new ways to tell the IRS that I oppose almost every decision made by our Government concerning foreign and domestic policy...
...The IRS has raided my account four times over the years...
...When we finished talking and I stood to leave, he came around his desk to shake my hand...
...I presented myself at the appointed time, and the president, a distinguished-looking man with graying hair, met me at the door, let me in, and led me past the cleaning women to an impressive office...
...I probably devote more time and attention to my income-tax return than do most people who actually pay their taxes...
...My point is to raise a public protest, to be faithful to my values, to be a cog in the wheel that won't mesh, and to give myself a forum for speaking out and bringing about change...
...For me, the act of resisting has become such a compelling annual ritual that I can no longer imagine paying my taxes in April...
...Out of every income-tax dollar sent to the Internal Revenue Service in 1988, more than fifty-four cents was spent on war-related purposes...
...Becoming a war-tax resister is like learning to drink fine wine: One is cautious and even timid at first, but eventually one learns to love it...
...I tell the IRS quite clearly why I choose not to cooperate with the collection of taxes...
...Once, Bill offered to take me out to breakfast, and I cheerfully accepted...
...Once, when I did not have enough money in the account to cover the money the IRS wanted to seize, it simply took everything I had on deposit, in effect closing my account...
...But I have come to believe the counselor was right: Once you get all the facts about tax resistance straight in your head, your gut tells you quite clearly whether you should take the leap...
...His brow was still knit, his eyes intent, but he seemed to be listening to me and becoming less defensive, less afraid...
...Bill" has visited me several times, trying to persuade me to stop my protest...
...I feel I am receiving support and solidarity from other individuals and families who have chosen war-tax resistance...
...Though we had a heated argument about nuclear weapons, the war in Nicaragua, "constructive engagement" in South Africa, and growing militarism in the United States, Bill graciously paid the bill and assured me I would be seeing him again...
...War-tax resisters, however, threaten the system sufficiently to elicit a response—and that, frankly, makes us feel good and makes us feel strong...
...One wonderful aspect of war-tax resistance is that it is a form of protest that is rarely ignored...
...War-tax resistance has afforded me many opportunities to talk to people who might not otherwise cross my path or give me a hearing...
...The president was obviously uncomfortable...
...After my account had been raided three times, I called the bank president and requested an appointment...
...Some actions must be undertaken solely because they reflect fundamental beliefs...
...Tax resistance is another step along the path of making my behavior congruent with my beliefs...
...It is the amount I owe in April—a few hundred dollars—that I withhold in protest every year...
...Because Bill has usually called before visiting, he has been greeted by Quaker vigils in my living room and by other surprises that could, I thought, reinforce the principles behind my protest...
...People often question my decision to engage in war-tax resistance...
...For my son, for all of our children, and for our future, my resistance continues...
...After your bank account, the Government's next-favorite target is your paycheck, if you have one...
...Because war-tax resistance is an act of civil disobedience, there is no one way and no correct way to do it...
...I was skeptical...
...My course has been to claim enough "allowances" on my W4 form so that I will still owe money to the Government in April after taxes have been withheld from my semimonthly paychecks...
...Finally, he interrupted me to ask a question about tax resistance...
...Only after two years of exploration, workshops, and hand-holding did I come to realize that war-tax resistance was a big step but not an overwhelming one— and that it definitely was for me...
...I took the leap in 1981 and I have never—not for one moment—regretted that decision...
...This option, too, is not very appealing from the Government's point of view, because it must then sell your property to obtain the revenues owed...
...I said, "I want to apologize to you for engaging in an act of resistance that causes a problem for you and your staff...
...At the place where the taxpayer is instructed to fill in the amount owed, sign the return, and attach a check, I fill in the amount I owe, sign my name, and attach a letter of protest...
...It was scary—something people went to jail for doing...
...During the period of weeks or months when these letters have been arriving, an IRS agent may also make a personal visit "to discuss your case with you...
...But I did what I was able to do—my friend got a great deal on a year-old auto, and I avoided having the IRS take my vehicle or put a lien on my paycheck...
...I intend to withhold my taxes faithfully until the priorities of our Government reflect a respect for life and an understanding that human needs deserve to be met...
...Putting a lien on your pay is a less attractive option for the Government than raiding your bank account because it means going through your employer—an extra step that often causes delays...
...As a social-change activist, I have participated in my share of marches, rallies, sit-ins...
...finds his or her own path, taking into account such considerations as income level, assets, family, risk, principles, and possessions...
...Each year I have withheld the amount I owed in April and have told that to the IRS...
...die-ins, and other demonstrations...
...The letter also states the amount I owe, which I am refusing to pay, and it indicates that copies are being sent to my Senators, Representative, local newspaper, and house of worship...
...We had a surprisingly frank exchange that lasted past the designated thirty minutes...
...Every year, thousands of us make the decision to engage in war-tax resistance...
...My experience suggests that this pattern is fairly typical: Some time between one month and one year after the IRS is informed of a tax resister's noncoopera-tion, the agency sends a fairly benign response, suggesting that you may simply have forgotten to enclose your check...
...Right now, I am working on my letter of protest to accompany my Form 1040 for this year...
...It wasn't for me...
...My answer is that it is the act of noncooperation, of noncompliance with the tax laws, that is important...
...They demand proof that it makes a difference before they will consider it part of a sound political strategy...
...One such encounter, made possible solely by my tax resistance, was the meeting I had a few years ago with the president of the bank where I have my account...
...I said I was not there to persuade him of anything...
...People have called me naive...
...Further letters grow more threatening, culminating in a certified-mail ten-day notice advising you that the IRS will collect within ten days all of the taxes you have withheld, plus interest of about 10 per cent, plus a penalty that can vary from 5 per cent to 25 per cent...
...Quite reluctantly, he agreed to see me at eight one morning, before the bank opened...
...On one occasion, he even proposed to discuss an "easy-payment plan...
...It requests, pleads, threatens, visits, listens, and bargains...
...The letter gives me an opportunity to state my case as eloquently as I can...
...Well, death may be a sure thing, but taxes are not...
...Every war-tax resister has a story to tell, and mine is neither more dramatic nor more heroic than the next...
...When the IRS finally concludes that a tax resister will not enter into voluntary compliance, it moves from intimidation to seizure...
...Several years ago, Bill warned me that the IRS was going to take my car—tow it away and auction it off...
...But I do carry on about being a Quaker, a mother, a feminist, a worker for justice and peace...
...General Accounting Office reported, "Although it is apparent that the illegal tax protest movement is increasing, the exact extent and makeup of the movement are unknown...
...My choice as a war-tax resister is to go public with my protest—to be as noisy, and as much of a nuisance, as I can be...
...The law allows the IRS to put a lien on your wages, siphoning off part of your salary each pay period, leaving you the remainder...
...I know our protest is rooted in American history...
...Why commit an act of protest that allows the IRS, in the end, to seize the money withheld plus interest and penalty...
...I complete an absolutely perfect Form 1040 every April...
...I regard war-tax resistance as a matter of conscience—the sort of thing we must sometimes do regardless of its "effectiveness...
...He told me how to meet him at the side door at that early hour, and said we would have thirty minutes—no more— to talk...
...Mother Teresa has said, "We are not called to be successful, we are called to be faithful...
...He paused and then responded, "And I want to apologize to you for having to comply with the system...
...Such criticism misses the point...
...Then it sent me a notice of the "balance" I still owed...
...Once, during that period of investigation, a war-tax resistance counselor told me, "When you are ready to do tax resistance, you know it...
...The tactic of choice is to withdraw the money the Government claims, including interest and penalty, from your bank account, if you have one...
...He said he had heard about tax resisters but he had never met one before...
...The same IRS agent, a pleasant though somewhat stiff fellow, has been following my case since 1981...
...I had been told the same thing about getting married, and that had proven to be untrue...
...The response has varied from year to year, but the overall pattern has been the same: The IRS wants the money and institutes a plan for collection that is based mainly on intimidation...
...After your bank account and your paycheck, the third-favorite target is property—especially autos and homes...
...In essence, I am a war-tax resister because I can do no less...
...Every tax resister Andrea Ayvazian is director of training for the Peace Development Fund in Amherst, Massachusetts...
...Compare that to the four cents spent for health care, two cents for food assistance, two cents for employment and education combined, and less than two cents altogether for Native Americans, community services, aid to the homeless, and housing...
...War-tax resistance is a concrete way of saying, "I disagree with the priorities put forward by our Government, and I will not comply with a system in which preparing for and fighting wars is accorded a higher value than supporting social programs that meet human needs...
...I was there because the IRS had raided my account three times and had even closed it once, and I wanted to explain to him why I was such a nuisance...
...Because I had a friend in need of a good, trustworthy vehicle, I immediately sold my car to her and put the money in the bank...
...Henry David Thoreau is, perhaps, the best-known war-tax resister (in opposition to the Mexican War), but over the past three centuries thousands of other Americans have refused to pay war taxes...
...His body language said, "I am not happy you are here...
...As I spoke, his body relaxed...
...I use the process of composing my annual letter as an opportunity to quiet myself and reflect on how this country (and this world) would feel if human life were honored and even held sacred— if people, not profits or power, came first...
...He sat still and attentive as I told him why I had chosen tax resistance, what the Quaker position was on war and violence, how I felt about what must be done...
...He sat back in his chair...
...They question the effectiveness of war tax resistance...
...I have done what I felt called to do and what I felt I could handle...
...In 1981, the U.S...
Vol. 53 • April 1989 • No. 4
