My Educated Opinion
Any nation needs three things in order to wage war: young men and women who are willing to join the military and risk their lives fighting a war.he consequences are primarily financial, including penalties and fines. The good news is that they are not going to arrest you or throw you in jail for war tax resistance. The IRS just wants their money, just like any other creditor, and you can’t pay them if you’re in jail.You file your taxes every year and include a letter to the IRS stating you are refusing to pay taxes because you refuse to pay for war. Not filing means not informing the IRS that you owe any taxes, and not filing any tax forms.Many people have noted the apparent futility of doing war tax resistance since the IRS often gets their money in the end.I can’t bring myself to do it. I won’t give it to them willingly. If more people refused to pay taxes, my minuscule act of resistance might have more impact. As activists we take many actions which may seem futile and we never can be sure of the efficacy, if any, of our work. Tax resistance is one more way of registering our opposition to war and militarism, and educating people about where their tax dollars really go.
How do they manage to get away with not paying taxes?
People are not paying State Federal taxes because they feel like their money is contributing to killing people and violence and also taking money away from the poor. One man who hasn't paid his state federal taxes in 40 years spoke on how he pays social security taxes, and medicare taxes but will not pay state federal taxes to contribute to our wars because he feels it is wrong. This man also spoke on how the government wanted to draft him off to the fight in the Vietnam war and he refused, the following year is when he made up his mind to no longer pay his state federal taxes. Although his actions were risky he did deal with issues with the IRS; the IRS took him to court in 1999 to sue him for not paying his taxes. The case was dismissed the man confessed to not paying his taxes but he argued that he pays taxes to other organizations and he doesn't feel the need to pay state federal taxes that will contribute to weapons, violence, and killing civilians. The man also explained that he doesn't have any bank accounts, he doesn't have a salary anymore because he is self employed and he doesn't own any major properties that the IRS can take from him.
What do you think the counter argument against war tax resisters are?
I think that society has made paying state federal taxes a priority for people; without educating people on what their money is paying for . For the small portions of people who haven't been paying taxes aren't oblivious to what is going on; they are aware of what their money is being spent on, that is why they refuse to pay their state federal taxes. I think people may argue that these resisters are being selfish and that they don't support the war effort. This topic can be very touchy one at times because many may not agree with tax evasion but others who don't pay their taxes may not want to support something they don't believe in.
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