Tax Revolt

by frankiespeakin 79 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  frankiespeakin

  Many are vowing not to pay any fed tax until the Iraq war ends.

  CodePink TaxRevolt:

  http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-456946919651340148&q=tax+revolt&total=38&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

  Tax revolt in my estimation is an American tradition(and so patriotic in every sense of the word imo), ie- the whisky rebellion, boston tea party, (slogan)" taxation without representation is tyranny " and so forth.

  Whiskey Rebellion:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskey_Rebellion

  This marked the first time under the new United States Constitution that the federal government used military force to exert authority over the nation's citizens. It was also one of only two times that a sitting President personally commanded the military in the field. (The other was after President James Madison fled the British occupation of Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812.)

  The military suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion set a precedent that U.S. citizens who wished to change the law had to do so peacefully through constitutional means; otherwise, the government would meet any threats to disturb the peace with force.

  Boston Tea Party:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party

  "taxation without representation is tyranny." :

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_taxation_without_representation

  Tax resistance:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_resistance

  Anarchists who resist taxes oppose anybody or any institution that demands tribute. Christian anarchists in the pacifist tradition resist taxes that fund a violent civil defence force or military. Some people suggest that a right to deny tax payments is in the spirit of democracy, giving people a veto right and forcing government spending to be done with the consent of the governed.

  What a tax resister hopes to accomplish may be personal or political or some combination of those two. Some tax resisters want to “wash their hands” of complicity in immoral government policies by not contributing to funding them. Some resist taxes as a form of protest that communicates the strength of their opposition through an act of civil disobedience. Some see tax resistance as a form of nonviolent political force – cutting off funds from the government as part of a campaign to force concessions from that government or to cause it to relinquish control.
• 

  frankiespeakin

  Famous personal quotes reguarding tax resistance:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_resistance

  Mahatma Gandhi:

  "Withholding payment of taxes is one of the quickest methods of overthrowing a government"

  "He or she who supports a State organized in the military way – whether directly or indirectly – participates in the sin. Each man old or young takes part in the sin by contributing to the maintenance of the State by paying taxes "

  Henry David Thoreau:

  "I have heard some of my townsmen say, “I should like to have them order me out to help put down an insurrection of the slaves, or to march to Mexico, – see if I would go;” and yet these very men have each, directly by their allegiance, and so indirectly, at least, by their money, furnished a substitute. The soldier is applauded who refuses to serve in an unjust war by those who do not refuse to sustain the unjust government which makes the war…"

  Leo Tolstoy:

  "If only each King, Emperor, and President understood that his work of directing armies is not an honourable and important duty, as his flatterers persuade him it is, but a bad and shameful act of preparation for murder – and if each private individual understood that the payment of taxes wherewith to hire and equip soldiers, and, above all, army-service itself, are not matters of indifference, but are bad and shameful actions by which he not only permits but participates in murder – then this power of Emperors, Kings, and Presidents, which now arouses our indignation… would disappear of itself. "
• 

  frankiespeakin

  http://www.warresisters.org/history_wtr.htm

  Up until World War II, war tax resistance in the U.S. primarily manifested itself among members of the historic peace churches — Quakers, Mennonites, and Brethren — and usually only during times of war. There has been instances of people refusing to pay taxes for war in virtually every American war, but it was not until World War II and the establishment of a permanent, centralized U.S. military (symbolized by the building of the Pentagon) was the modern war tax resistance movement born.

  Colonial America
  One of the earliest known instances of war tax refusal took place in 1637 when the relatively peaceable Algonquin Indians opposed taxation by the Dutch to help improve a local Dutch fort. Shortly after the Quakers arrived in America (1656) there were a number of individual instances of war tax resistance. In 1709 the Quaker Assembly refused a request of £4000 for an expedition into Canada, replying “it was contrary to their religious principles to hire men to kill one another.”

  American Revolution
  Most Quakers were opposed to taxes designated specifically for military purposes. Though the official position of the Society of Friends was against any payment of war taxes. Property was seized and auctioned, and many Quakers were jailed for their war tax resistance. A number of Quakers even refused the “mixed taxes.” Up to 500 Quakers were disowned for paying war taxes or joining the army.

  Following the war many Quakers continued to refuse because these taxes were being used to pay the war debt, and therefore were essentially war taxes.

  Mexican War
  The Quakers reacted strongly to this war because of its aggressive nature and the threatened spread of slavery posed by the war. Many, again, refused to..............................................................

  ...............In 1963 the Peacemakers published the first handbook on war tax resistance, appropriately titled Handbook on Nonpayment of War Taxes.

  Indochina War
  War tax resistance gained nationwide publicity when Joan Baez announced in 1964 her refusal to pay 60 percent of her 1963 income taxes because of the war in Vietnam. In 1965 the Peacemakers formed the “No Tax for War in Vietnam Committee,” obtaining signers to the pledge “I am not going to pay taxes on 1964 income.” By 1967 about 500 people had signed the pledge.
• 

  Robdar

  Oh, Goodie! A tax revolt.

  Wont the IRS have fun collecting interest and penalties?
• 

  5go

  At least it's for a good cause this time.

  If I hear another person complain they pay to much taxes I swear I will buy them a ticket to any country other western country to witness their tax burden first hand. Funny though it seems those countries are a lot better off for the average Joe just trying to live a normal life.
• 

  frankiespeakin

  http://www.warresisters.org/how_to_resist.htm

  Summarized below are a few war tax resistance methods. Detailed descriptions can be found in WRL’s War Tax Resistance: A Guide to Withholding Your Support from the Military and through war tax counselors. Contact the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC) for counselors in your area. The probability of collection or prosecution varies among the methods; all — except #4 — are illegal. Serious consideration must be given before embarking on these types of resistance.

  1) File and refuse to pay your taxes. This involves filling out an IRS income tax return (e.g., Form 1040) and refusing to pay either a token amount of your taxes (e.g., $1, $9.11, $100), some “military” portion (approximately 1% for nuclear warheads, 4% for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 30% for current military spending, 50% for current and past military spending combined — see WRL’s pie chart for the latest percentages), or the total amount (since a portion of whatever is paid goes largely to the military). Include a letter of explanation with the return.

  2) File a blank IRS 1040 income tax return with a note of explanation.

  3) Don’t file any Federal income tax returns.

  4) Earn less than the taxable income. However, it is important to organize and speak out on war tax resistance in order to publicize why you have choosen to keep your income low. Also, write letters to the IRS, newspapers, politicians, friends, and relatives.

  5) Resist telephone taxes. A number of federal excise taxes are also included in the Federal Budget. These include tobacco and alcohol taxes. But the federal telephone tax has historically been the most clearly related to the ups and downs of military spending. To refuse the federal excise tax, simply subtract that amount from your monthly telephone bill and include a note of explanation to the phone company each time you pay the bill. The phone company is required (by FCC regulations) credit your bill and report this amount to the IRS, but not cut off your telephone service. For more information, see the Hang Up on War!campaign to resist telephone tax (initiated Nov. 2003).

  Stopping the Withholding SystemOne of the difficulties with resisting taxes is getting the opportunity to do so. Most people receive their income in the form of wages that are subject to withholding before an employee even sees the paycheck. Listed below are some ways to minimize the problems posed by withholding.

  1) W-4 resistance. Each employee must fill out a W-4 form with her or his employer. The W-4 form determines the amount of money to be withheld from each paycheck. The more allowances (you, dependents, anticipated itemized deductions, etc.) claimed, the less withheld. In the past, all that could be claimed on a W-4 form was yourself and dependents, making those who inflated the form more easily subject to fraud charges.

  2) Self-employment. It is entirely the individual’s responsibility to file quarterly estimated tax payments, as well as the 1040 itself.

  3) Special jobs. Certain jobs, such as domestic service, day labor, ministers, agricultural workers, among others are exempted from the withholding system.

  4) Employment Agency. Some resisters have formed employment agencies (small scale models of Kelly Services or Manpower) to sell their labor to other companies. These agencies are then responsible for withholding (or not withholding) taxes from their employees as well as honoring (or not honoring) IRS levies.

  5) Courageous Employers. Though rare, there are a few employers — notably the War Resisters League, as well as Quaker meetings and church congregations — who have honored employees’ wishes not to be withheld from and have refused IRS levies.

  Sending a letter of protest with whatever tax payment you do make is one way to express your discontent with budget priorities. Writing a letter to your local newspaper communicates your concern more broadly. Send copies of these letters to Congresspeople, too.

  339 Lafayette Street New York, NY 10012 (212) 228-0450 fax (212) 228-6193 [email protected]	“Believing war to be a crime against humanity, the War Resisters League, founded in 1923, advocates Gandhian nonviolence as the method for creating a democratic society free of war, racism, sexism, and human exploitation.”
  WRL Homepage • WRL Programs• WRL Literature• WRL Actions• WRL Employment• About WRL
• 

  BurnTheShips

  If I hear another person complain they pay to much taxes I swear I will buy them a ticket to any country other western country to witness their tax burden first hand.

  Easy for you to say 5g0. You are:

  #1 Unemployed therefore you pay no Federal.

  #2 Live with your parents, you pay no property tax.

  #3 Do not have a family to support. Your nonperformance affects no one but yourself. If I screw up, my wife and child suffer. Taxation is not taking food from the mouth of your dependents.

  My household had more withheld from our income last year than we paid in Mortgage, Property Tax, and Home Insurance combined.

  On top of Federal, I have to pay property taxes and the state sales tax on every purchase I make.

  Don't tell me how light my tax burden is.
• 

  BurnTheShips

  CodePink is a sick organization. They treat our soldiers with contempt. They mob the military hospitals with their futile protests. Moonbats.
• 

  journey-on

  And don't forget, Burn, if you're a small business owner, you are paying half your employees' SS contribution, FUTA taxes, and

  state unemployment taxes. You mentioned property taxes if you are a home owner, but you forgot School Taxes!!
• 

  5go

  Easy for you to say 5g0. You are:

  Burn get up to date please
  

  #1 Unemployed therefore you pay no Federal.

  I am gainfully under employed at the moment

  #2 Live with your parents, you pay no property tax.

  If I rented I wouldn't either.

  #3 Do not have a family to support. Your nonperformance affects no one but yourself. If I screw up, my wife and child suffer. Taxation is not taking food from the mouth of your dependents.

  If I had a family I know of programs that I could use to my advantage if needed. But I don't have a family for that reason.

  My household had more withheld from our income last year than we paid in Mortgage, Property Tax, and Home Insurance combined.

  On top of Federal, I have to pay property taxes and the state sales tax on every purchase I make.

  Don't tell me how light my tax burden is.

  Go to Denmark where you pay three time your car's worth in taxes and most of your pay goes to taxes. Yet people still own cars in fact some of my friends were tempted to move in with relatives there. They said life in general was much easier over there and every thing needed for basic living was guaranteed by the government.