National Groups Support Tax Boycott to Protest Iraq War - Not in Our Name!

     How do we deal with our complicity, as taxpayers, in war crimes? The war in Iraq is clearly in violation of the standards set forth in the Geneva Conventions as a war of aggression. The Nuremberg Accords set forth clearly our responsibility as citizens of a criminal government – we have a duty to resist, non-violently, within the context of our nation’s laws and history. 

     No form of resistance is more United States/American than tax resistance. Our nation was built on tax resistance, “No taxation without representation” was our cry. Even today, in many respects, we are a nation of tax resisters, with a nationwide resentment of the dreaded and despised IRS. 

     It is a misplaced resentment, since the real culprit is the Congress that makes the laws, and the President’s office, which often ignores the laws, or simply creates its own framework for governing, apart from any mandate from the people. The Courts dutifully back up the regressive and repressive policies of the legislature and executive branches. The war and occupation in Iraq, the torture policies, the illegal wiretapping, the practice of rendition, the disgrace of Katrina, the willful ignorance of the plight of the sweatshop workers and peasants of this world, all lead us to want to define ourselves in terms of our government. 

     This fall, the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee urges all who oppose the war in Iraq to register and prepare for an April 2008 nationwide boycott and redirection of the federal income taxes that fuel the war in Iraq. This 2008 War Tax Boycott , Withhold from War Pay for Peace is an avenue for you to join others in presenting the US government with a strong and clear voice of resistance to war policies.  There are many levels on which you can participate, so do not be intimidated.  You will be joining many others - it is past time to take this stand. 

     Among the groups promoting this action are Voices for Creative Nonviolence, War Resisters League, the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, Veterans for Peace, and the Nonviolent Direct Action Working Group of United for Peace and Justice. 

     As a longtime participant with the National War Tax Resisters, I encourage you to check out the possibility of taking your resistance to a different level, to feel the release of making a clear statement to a vicious government - that you will not be complicit with these policies. For a more complete version of my experience, check out this article from “More than a Paycheck”.   -Joe DeRaymond