Last week NWTRCC hosted a War Tax Resistance/Refusal/Redirection (WTR) 101 online. It was an interactive, engaging conversation. We have been hearing from practitioners of WTR who have been living under the taxable income who anticipate that changing or do not see that path as sustainable. It is encouraging to be engaged with people who are making intentional decisions about how our collective resources are being used. 

NWTRCC  will be hosting a WTR 101 on Facebook Live this coming Thurday Feburary 2 (2pm eastern/ 1pm central/ 11am pacific). Coordinator Lincoln Rice will be sharing an overview of WTR including history, motivations, practical concerns such as to file or not to file, W-4 forms, self employment and so much more. Join us and share with your networks, those who may be interested. You can also find a  recording of the WTR 101 later on our YouTube Channel.

Also there will be a  Counselor’s Training this coming Saturday Feburary 4 that you can register for here as well as  information about our upcoming NWTRCC National gathering in May in North Manchester, Indiana May 5-7. 

Motivations of WTR in the Modern Era M.E./ Atomic Age

Image of Wei Wei exhibit featuring bombs “Little Boy,” “Fat Man” and B83 the largest nuclear bomb in the US arsenal. Photo by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

At the start of each year, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists issues their assessment about the risks to life on Earth through human actions and inactions. After the nuclear bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagaski, the international group was formed and began issuing it’s annual state of the world in the form of the Doomsday Clock. The extinction of humanity is represented as midnight on the clock and how close we are to that has been measured by minutes to midnight. The clock was first set at 7 minutes to midnight in 1947; has moved backwards 8 times and forward 17 times. 

In 2020 the clock moved to a mere 100 seconds to midnight with the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists citing the threats of nuclear war and climate chaos had a multipying effect when incorporating cyber enabled info warfare. After 3 years at a standstill, the Doomsday Clock was moved forward last week by the Bullitin of Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board to a mere 90 seconds till midnight, closer to anytime during the Cold War when a nuclear winter loomed on the horizon. 

During the reveal of the Doomsday Clock status last week there were many international voices and members of the Elders Council who were encouraging world-wide action to prevent a collective human annilihation which can be accessed here.The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (I-CAN)  issued a statement in response to the Doomsday Clock stating “So this year’s Clock announcement must not be followed by the usual hand wringing, resignation and excuses, but urgent action to avoid nuclear war.”  I-CAN lays out some plans to follow up on the Doomsday Clock dislosure just 2 years and 2 days after the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into legal force. 

At the online WTR 101 session, it was framed that the  most recent era of WTR reached back to the resisters of WWII who emerged from that war deeply opposed to nuclear weapons. It seems like such an obvious lineage but one would hope as I am certain that they must have imagined that we would not still be engaged in a game of roulette with all of humanity all these years later. Upon reflecting upon Nuclear Winter, all those who have been resisting it and thinking about the Doomsday Clock moving up 10 seconds closer, the words of Mary Oliver’s poem The Summer Day came to mind:

“Tell me what else should I have done?

Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

Post by Chrissy Kirchhofer

The post Take Action Before the Clock Stikes Midnight first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Take Action Before the Clock Stikes Midnight appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

We will offer a WTR 101 workshop on Saturday January 28, 2023 at noon Eastern/ 9a Pacific. Because of the packed schedule at our November meeting, we did not have a 101 session that weekend. A few of the attendees at that conference indicated that they would like to attend our next WTR 101 session, so we chose the date and time after reaching out to them. As always, the session is free and open to all. Please share this information with anyone you think may be interested. Register for the session here.

Each year, NWTRCC hosts a War Tax Resistance Counselors Training. Before COVID, these trainings normally occurred on Sunday afternoon after the November business meeting. Our session this year will be Saturday February 4 beginning at 11a Eastern/ 8a Pacific. This will be the fourth time that the session has been held online. If you are interested in becoming a counselor, taking a deeper dive into the war tax resistance, or you are a counselor who would like a refresher, contact the NWTRCC office.

Social Media Workshop

NWTRCC will host an online Social Media Workshop on Saturday March 18 at 2p Eastern/ 11a Pacific. This workshop will aid our group in utilizing Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms with an eye toward Tax Day. You did not need to be tech savvy to participate, you only have to be able to join us on Zoom. Registration information for the session will go out in early March by email and on our social media platforms. But if you want to make sure you do not miss that email, simply contact the NWTRCC office and let us know you want to join the session.

Mark Your Calendars! National NWTRCC Conference in Indiana: May 5 – 7, 2023

We will finally be meeting in person again for our May meeting. We are very thankful to Joyfield Farm in North Manchester, Indiana in extending us an invitation. Joyfield Farm is an organic farm in north-central Indiana, about an hour west of Fort Wayne. The farm has WiFi, so portions of the conference will also be online. The setting will be slightly more rustic than usual with amenities such as outhouses. There is plenty of camping space, including inside of a large barn. Some families in the area will also host folks and provide beds, but these will be limited.

In our pandemic world, this farm provides one of the safest environments for meeting and sleeping. Unfortunately, the farm is not near any airports, train terminals, or bus terminals. Therefore, we ask that anyone planning to attend who would need a ride from one of these locations to please contact the NWTRCC office to arrange a ride before purchasing a ticket. The farm’s address is 4874 E 1400 N, North Manchester, Indiana 46962. Registration will go up on the website in late-February. You can also call the office and register over the phone.

The NWTRCC business meeting is Sunday morning, May 7 (open to all). Note: Proposals for the May meeting must be submitted to the NWTRCC office by April 15, 2023.

We are looking forward to a busy Tax Season and the ability to finally meet in person again!

~Post by Lincoln Rice

The post Online War Tax Resistance Workshops & May Meeting Location first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Online War Tax Resistance Workshops & May Meeting Location appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

There is an immediacy this year to call for cessation of the war ravaging Ukraine and Russia for the past 11 months. It draws the attention of those seeking light in these dark days for those of us advocating for peace. Advocacy for peace is not limited to religious preference. NWTRCC encourages atheists, agnostics, Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Jews (believers and non-believers) to consider backing this effort.

Image from 1914 Christmas Truce from Wikimedia Commons

At NWTRCC’s conference at the beginning of November, a group war tax resisters attending that conference decided to start meeting to discuss how we could address the war in Ukraine. This blog post is one way our group plans to address that war. Acknowledging that there is no good war, and no possibility of a lasting military solution in Ukraine, we urge everyone to press for an immediate truce—a ceasefire that is a precondition for peace talks to begin.

We support a proposed Christmas Truce based on the model of the Christmas truce held in the Belgian trenches of the German and Allied armies more than 100 years ago. Some 100,000 soldiers on both sides of that conflict laid down their arms and spontaneously suspended their warmaking.

Christmas Truce Statue from Wikimedia Common

They moved toward one another into the “no-mans-land” between them, and sang  “Silent Night” and other hymns together.  They shared food and they prayed.  They even shared a game of football (soccer) as well as drinks.  They engaged with each other as fellow humans with families and dreams of the future.

Today, the U.S. peace movement is responding to this call for a Christmas Truce, as spear-headed by Massachusetts Peace Action as part of large peace coalition at www.peaceinukraine.org. The call is also supported internationally by International Peace Bureau in Berlin (IPB).

Please contact one or both of these organizations to sign on to this action for peace. Or write your own legislators to call for a ceasefire from December 25th through January 7th. This is the first and vital step toward opening the way to negotiations and ending the carnage.

~Post by Cathy Deppe

The post Christmas Truce Redux first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Christmas Truce Redux appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

My 2020 tax folder is piling up with letters back and forth.

However, I had to write back a dispute because they did not correct their original error. The IRS took my estimated and final payments for 2020 self-employment/Social Security taxes and applied them to my income tax debts for 2011 and 2012. This is against IRS regulations. I wrote them about this is August 2021 but got no reply, so last week I copied that text and sent it back to them with my corrected calculations.

I have a feeling this is going to go on for a while. By my original calculations my resisted income tax for 2020 was $1,216. Since the IRS misapplied my 2020 payments, they say I owe $4,431, including interest and penalties and a credit I had overlooked for one of those stimulus checks I didn’t receive.

My dispute letter repeats my calculations but includes the credit. If the IRS accepts it and returns my payments to the proper year, the down side for me is that I may end up with an overpayment for 2020. In addition, all this delay has also messed up the real amount I should be getting in my Social Security payments. That and the fact that the IRS needs to apply estimated tax payments properly and follow their own regulations are reasons to carry on this correspondence.

NYC City Council member Carlina Rivera announces the Move the Money resolution on December 7 at City Hall. Photo by Ruth Benn. More photos by Ted Reich here.

Meanwhile, I did have a better time at a press conference for the NYC Move the Money campaign. City Council Member Carlina Rivera hosted the press conference on the steps of City Hall to announce the introduction of a “Move the Money” resolution in the NYC City Council. If passed, Res. 0423-2022 puts the city on record calling on Congress and the President to cut the military budget and fund social services. City officials who spoke at the press conference spoke eloquently and with passion about the importance of moving the money.

As with most such resolutions it is symbolic, but the campaign itself is a worthy one for peace groups as far as public education goes and the opportunity to work with a broader coalition. The NYC Move the Money coalition itself is made up of 60 labor, peace, community, clergy, environmental and racial justice organizations — and growing. Many of those groups are demanding the mayor fund social services (or at least avoid cuts), but they don’t talk about the obvious source of revenue to fund these programs. Move the Money makes the connection and opens the door for more dialogue and cooperation.

— Post by Ruth Benn

The post Move the Money — Mine and the Pentagon’s first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Move the Money — Mine and the Pentagon’s appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

NWTRCC held its fortieth anniversary conference on Zoom the weekend of 4 – 6 November 2022. About 50 people attended some portion of the conference, which began the evening of Friday November 4 with a short concert with folk singer and political satirist Charlie King. He sang “More than Enough” by Robb Johnson, “Universal Soldier” by Buffy Saint Marie, and closed with a composition of his own, “Spoon of Sand.”

Evening with Previous Coordinators

Following the concert, NWTRCC’s previous coordinators shared some anecdotes from their time with NWTRCC. Kathy Vass, who was the coordinator from 1982 to 1987 shared about the beginnings of NWTRCC and the arduous task of spearheading the composition of a war tax resistance manual. Larry Bassett, who co-coordinated with Kathy from 1984 to 1986, spoke of the daily grind during this time and shared about the significant amount of time that he stood next to a printer making copies of the WTR manual.

Carolyn Stevens, coordinator from 1987 to 1991, spoke about creating and updating WTR literature as well  as the importance of fundraising. Unfortunately, Karen Marysdaughter, coordinator from 1991 to 1999, was not able to join us.

Mary Loehr, coordinator from 1999 to 2003, shared stories from NWTRCC gatherings and the fun that happened at those meetings. She also related that at an international meeting in Washington, DC, David Zarembka shared, “I have lost a house… to divorce.” Mary believed he shared this to indicate how precarious life is.

Lastly, Ruth Benn spoke, who was coordinator from 2003 to 2018. Ruth discussed the time she was asked to visit the IRS department that investigated tax protestor organizations. Right before Ruth was called in, the IRS had shut down one of the tax protestor websites. Thankfully, the IRS decided not to take any action against NWTRCC.

Panel on the Living History of NWTRCC

On Saturday morning, four panelists each provided a concise summary of one NWTRCC decade. Ed Hedemann, who was at the first NWTRCC meeting, presented on the 1980s. Robert Randall, whose local group sent a representative to the first meeting, presented on the 1990s. Sue Barnhart, who attended her first meeting in Portland, Oregon in 1993, presented on the 2000s. And Erica Leigh, who served for several years as NWTRCC’s social media consultant, presented on the 2010s.

Memorial Session

For our second Saturday session, we viewed a slide show to the music of Charlie King, in which fifty individuals who have passed away during the last forty years were remembered. After the eight-minute slide show, people shared stories about those in the slide show whom they knew and called forth of the names of those who were inadvertently left out of the slide show. After the additional names with photos are integrated into the slide show, it will be posted to NWTRCC’s YouTube channel.

NWTRCC Trivia

To allow for some fun small-group interaction, we dedicated an hour-long session for trivia. Attendees were placed in groups of five, given some time to chat and catch-up, and then fifteen minutes to work together on a quiz. Lastly, everyone was then brought back to the larger group to find out the correct answers. If you were not able to participate in that session, the multiple-choice quiz from the session can be found beginning on the back page of this periodical. (During the celebration of our 40th year, one of our blog posts will be this quiz.)

The Next 40 Years

Our marathon celebration concluded with breakout sessions in which small groups discussed possible directions for NWTRCC during the next one, five, or forty years. There were numerous calls for an official statement on the war in Ukraine, which came up again at the Sunday business meeting. (See the “NWTRCC News” section for more.) Felice and Jack Cohen-Joppa shared the success they have had with placing QR codes on protest signs on college campuses. NWTRCC will provide a way for Tax Day 2023 demonstrations to do this if they wish.

Nuclear Resister protest with the use of a QR code. Photo courtesy of the Nuclear Resister.

Recognizing the how white our group is, there were calls to continue connecting WTR with racism and earth work. Joshua shared his belief that there would be interest for war tax resistance among several independent media outlets. The NWTRCC office will look into this more during tax season. Other ideas were also offered, which will be brought to NWTRCC’s Outreach Committee for discussion.

Overall, it was a wonderful conference and we were very pleased to see so many people who played a role in NWTRCC’s history. It would be better meeting in person, but I am glad we were able to make the best of what technology has to offer.

Post by Lincoln Rice

The post NWTRCC’s 40th Anniversary Conference: A Joyous Celebration of Resistance first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post NWTRCC’s 40th Anniversary Conference: A Joyous Celebration of Resistance appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

Federal Budget graph painted on a street in Eugene, OR, 1984, with local activist Leslie Brockelbank. Photo by Ed Hedemann, WRL files

These days when I feel that we must be in the worst of times, items in the collections are reminding me that there were other dark times for peace activists. The 1930s had some heady years of pacifist sentiment but, as Hitler’s power grew, the pacifist position was marginalized and mocked. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki introduced new horrors. The 1950s with anti-Communist fever and McCarthyism made it hard for organizations like WRL to grow their ranks. There’s a packed folder of political cartoons during the Reagan era that demonstrates the widespread anger at his administration’s “guns over butter” policies and the fears of a nuclear WWIII.

Reviewing all this history can enhance one’s feelings of failure to reach the kind of society and world we want, but the photos of antiwar actions and protests against injustices are also a testimony to carrying on against the odds. War tax resistance actions are scattered through the WRL files, so I pulled out a random few that can also give us ideas for things to do during the upcoming tax season — carrying on Chrissy’s theme from an earlier blog, “Making War Tax Resistance Visible and Accessible.”

— Post by Ruth Benn

Books purchased with tax resisted dollars and donated to the local library, Brunswick, GA, 1991. Photo by Ruth Benn, WRL files	Activists change the message on a billboard in Alaska, 1990. Photo by Karen Beetle, WRL files
Missiles or Human Needs? Tax day vigil, Long Island, NY, 1989. WRL files	Charlie King performs on a stage-topped van, tax day 1975, NYC. Photo by Karl Bissinger, WRL files. Charlie will open NWTRCC’s virtual gathering on November 4.

The post Inspiration from the Past for the Present first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Inspiration from the Past for the Present appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

We would love for you to share the event with your networks, especially those you have made aware of your war tax resistance and who have expressed interest in learning more. The details and registration for the event can be found here. We are grateful for the opportunity to make WTR more accessible to a wider audience via Zoom. This allows us to be a part of a wide network to engage in peace daily. We in the U.S. have a unique opportunity to resist paying for the carnage of war. Throughout most of the world, many people do not have the opportunity to withhold some of their earnings from the supports of Empire. 

Like with all WTR 101 sessions, we will be talking about motivations, life circumstances, and provide information to all of the questions that go into resisting paying for war. It is always an opportunity to look at WTR from a fresh perspective. I often think of one of the best learnings from a 101 session: that we can continually reassess our relationship to WTR. It is also refreshing to direct others to the many resources in the NWTRCC network in terms of written materials and people available to share their experiences. 

This past weekend, NWTRCC Coordinator Lincoln Rice and I were able to have an in person WTR 101 session at the Midwest Catholic Worker gathering. Eleven people attended the session which was the same size crowd the previous year when Lincoln presented the WTR 101. There has been a 101 session every year for the past 4 Catholic Worker gatherings held amongst the cornfields of Iowa.

It was a great homecoming to be with people in a circle discussing war tax refusal! Collectively we had well over 100 years of experience with WTR amongst us and if we included the people who came later in the session it surpassed 150 years of standing against the IRS and war machine.

Charles Carney and Karl Meyer were present at the discussion and had a lot to add about their journey towards WTR, what sustained them, and different tactics that they have employed over the years. As always, it was refreshing to hear of people’s motivations, life circumstances, and questions about WTR. It was interesting to think about consequences for WTR on business owners and how it may not be advantageous to file separately for certain married couples.

Karl Meyer and Peace House 2.0

Every WTR 101 session allows for those who attend to advocate and spread the word of WTR. Throughout the weekend, we distributed the War Resister’s League Pie Chart, the NWTRCC newsletter, fliers on W-4 resistance, and had many conversations on WTR with those who are resisting or considering it

It helped that Karl Meyer had come in his bright blue Peace House that was present and hard not to notice with the messages on U.S. military spending, foreign policy, and plenty of War Resisters League Pie Charts for distribution.  Karl was eager to give tours of the van explaining how it was outfitted to support his carpentry work that has allowed for his WTR for all these decades. Karl’s creative ways of messaging WTR to the masses continued and was preformed in song at the skit night on Saturday (the song is included at the end.)

It is refreshing after surviving the pandemic and social isolation to be able to once again support one another. Whether in person, telephone, Zoom, or social media, it is good to be reminded of our role in mutual support and to be reminded that we are not alone. The strength of the NWTRCC network continues to grow and there is great cause for celebration in our 40 years and the intent to support each other in our war tax resistance!

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer 

Compliments of Karl Meyer:

(On October 31, 1969, Halloween Day, Agent Roy Suzuki of the Internal Revenue Service phoned me at my place of employment and graciously demanded payment of taxes, penalties, and interest for the year 1965, part of a much larger tax bill that IRS had been unsuccessfully trying to collect for a number of years. After I said I would not pay, he came over promptly and served my employer with a levy against wages due me at that time, which they honored by deducting $46.60 from my pay. This event inspired composition of the following duet, to the tune of a well-known song from the post-World War II musical South Pacific.  I have sung the lead role at many gatherings, but cannot remember, in order to  credit, the many eminent tax-refusing women who have sung opposite, in the role of Suzuki’s boss.)

SOME ENCHANTED TAXMEN

Some enchanted evening, you may meet a stranger.

You may see him come to you across a crowded room, then pull out his badge, and ask for your wage. If you don’t go along, he will not argue long.

He will be a taxman; he will be insistent;

he will bring a levy to place against your wage;

and when he is done, he’ll go back to his boss,

and give a report like this:

Suzuki:

Who would believe it? Who would say it’s so?

I found him at Follett’s. I collected dough.

His Boss:

Oh, Suzuki, how did you know?

Now that you’ve found him, never let him go.

Suzuki:

Forty-six dollars, all for the war;

I’ll go back again soon; I will grab some more.

Boss:

Oh, Suzuki, try going slow;

don’t scare him off too fast; don’t let him go.

Suzuki:

I have worked so patiently; I have tried so long;

My but that man’s conscience is strong.

Boss:

Don’t get sentimental; remember he’s your foe;

Now that you’ve found him, never let him go.

Suzuki:

I’ll go back tomorrow, shortly after dawn;

I’ll levy on his wage again, but he will be gone.

Boss:

Buck up, Suzuki, don’t let it get you down;

We have lots of agents snooping round the town.

Suzuki:

They will never nail him; they’ll never collect;

Why should we waste our time, breaking our necks?

Boss:

The war must go on, you know, and we must be paid;

the arms race must be financed, and profits be made.

Suzuki:

We will never make it with guys like that Meyer.

Why not quit and go to work; our proceeds would be higher?

Boss:

Roy, that’s not the spirit of IRS, you know.

Both together:

Once you have found one, never let him go!!!

The post Making War Tax Resistance Visible and Accessible 101 first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Making War Tax Resistance Visible and Accessible 101 appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

Kathy Boyland and Chrissy Kirchhoefer at SOA protest Nov 2019

I met Utah Phillips at the School of the Americas (SOA) protests at Fort Benning, Georgia. It was there that I was also first introduced to war tax resistance (WTR). For many of us, the actions at SOA were our introductions to the global reach of what Eisenhower warned about the “military industrial complex.” The SOA trains soldiers from Latin America in using terror tactics against the struggle of ordinary people resisting oppression. At the time, I was awestruck by these members of Veterans for Peace, Raging Grannies, and others. We shared our stories, our literature, and inspiration for future actions. 

It’s interesting to think of what seeds were planted from our sharing. It was after my first gathering at the SOA that I learned about the NWTRCC network and the power of nonviolent civil disobedience. We come at this work from different places, but sharing and learning from one another is what our movement is all about. It can revitalize, rejuvenate, inspire, and conspire us towards a new paradigm.

War tax resisters at No to NATO march. Chicago, May 2012. Photo by Ruth Benn

At the heart of this work has always been relationships with each other and ourselves, as we relate to and create the world in which we want to live.  It has been in knowing others’ stories and where they draw their passion that builds common ground and relationships.

In meeting Utah Phillips I had a chance to embarrass myself by gushing at him. He said, “Don’t do that to yourself.” It reminds me of a part of a poem that says, “Putting people on pedestals is a way of keeping them at a distance.” We are lucky to be among ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Recognizing each of us has talents, skills, and blessings to bring to our collective table.

In anticipation of celebrating NWTRCC’s 40th anniversary at our November conference, we are gathering stories from those in the network! There are prompting questions, but feel free to share your stories as you feel moved—WE WANT TO GATHER YOUR STORIES. One of the prompts asks you to share a memory from previous conferences. (You can find a list of meeting locations at the back of our handbook). We will share the stories that we collect in a special 40th anniversary edition of the October newsletter.

I am really excited about the November NWTRCC gathering and the program that has come into place with the help of the Ad Hoc 40th planning committee. You can check out the full schedule of events here. Singer/songwriter Charlie King will kick off our conference Friday evening! A request has been submitted for him to play this song—dedicated to you!

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

The post People Like You first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post People Like You appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

More recently he’s worked with a friend’s archeology company on some digs in the east, and in June he joined a survey in New Hampshire. Arriving at the site, he was surprised to discover that it was on a US Space Force base near Manchester. I, for one, had put that previous president’s space force out of my mind, so I was amazed to hear it is alive and well (I fear) in New Hampshire. Every day when the dig team got to the gates they were screened by fully armed, ready-for-combat guards who deployed bomb detectors to scan the underside of their cars, raising the question “what the heck is going on here?”

That base is called the New Boston Space Force Station, which took over an air force base in the summer of 2020. It is one of about 14 space force bases or stations around the country — plus one in Greenland. Presumably the funding for this archeology survey came right from the space force budget. We could hope the dig turned up something to stop the station’s development.

Photo: Global Network website. Watch the website for October’s “Keep Space for Peace Week” of actions. http://space4peace.org/

Feeling bad about having put the space force out of my mind, it reminded me to check out the website for the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, that excellent organization coordinated by Bruce Gagnon. The Global Network’s website is packed with important (and frightening) articles and information about the militarization and exploitation of space. I also happened on an August blog celebrating their 30^th anniversary, so here’s a big shout out of congratulations to Bruce and everyone who has been part of their work over the years.

Photo by Ed Hedemann, Aug. 2, 2022.

Recently I participated in a few demonstrations calling for nuclear abolition — weapons and power. On August 2, we were at the UN, which is hosting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, and took our demands to “stop talking and start disarming!” to the US Mission. On the anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki there were more vigils and press conferences. The Japanese and alternative press attended; the US mainstream media was nowhere to be seen.

Our anti-nuclear actions were grounded on saving life on earth, but between my brother’s story and the Global Network’s website I was given a wake-up call to what is happening in space. Karl Grossman’s article, “The Space Race is Going Nuclear” was especially enlightening, and he has also written a book on the topic. In addition, he is the author of a Beyond Nuclear handbook, The U.S. Space Force and the dangers of nuclear power and nuclear war in space (PDF). I appreciated the section headed “Why do we need a Space Force?” with the answer: “We don’t.”

My war tax resistance was inspired by hearing Dr. Helen Caldicott speak about the dangers of nuclear weapons. More than 40 years later the dangers are greater and the powers that be are constantly scheming and scanning for their next frontier to fight over. In this case, if they have their way, it really could be the “final frontier.” We have no choice but to keep up our resistance to militarism in all its forms and from the depths of the ocean to the moon and beyond.

— Post by Ruth Benn

The post It’s Up to Us to Make Space for Peace first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post It’s Up to Us to Make Space for Peace appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

Many of the speakers  on the webinar reflected on the pressing issues of the day and the context in which the June 12, 1982 events occurred. The four main issues that galvanized people to attend were the elimination of nuclear weapons and nuclear power, honoring Native American Treaties and full employment for all. You can watch one of the webinars, Defuse Nuclear War, commemorating the event here.  

The issues seem prescient and many were issues that were brought up later in the week at the Poor People’s Campaign on June 18th in Washington D.C. which you can watch here. The Campaign has centered what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called the triplets of evil—racism, militarism, excessive consumerism—and then added the climate crisis that we find interwoven in all of these issues. Rev. Barber, one of the organizers, brought up one of the key components of the original Poor People’s Campaign, utilizing nonviolent direct action to put pressure on decision makers when he declared “If we need to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience—then we will engage!”

There was some mentions at the June 12 Legacy webinar of the mass civil disobedience campaign that was organized by War Resisters League among other organizations. The words toward the end of the webinar were quite striking, “If we don’t risk doing what seems impossible then we face an unthinkable future,” It was that spirit of risk taking that inspired over 3,500 people to  shut down the United Nations missions of the 7 major known nuclear armed countries on June 14. There were over 1,700 arrests with some folks having multiple arrests on that day.  

There will be a webinar Saying No to Nuclear War through Nonviolent Direct Action Wednesday June 22nd at 7pm Eastern (4p Pacific) to share about the Blockade the Bombmakers campaign of that day and discuss upcoming events around nuclear disarmament at the UN in August. You can find out more information and register here.

I look forward to joining the webinar to learn more about that time. The role of civil disobedience in pushing for “freezing” the use of nuclear weapons likely played a part in not having escalated wars to a nuclear confrontation. I am particularly curious to learn from those who embraced war tax resistance in their attempt to prevent nuclear war worldwide. One of the organizers of the upcoming webinar, Ruth Benn, wrote, “A Good Reason to Refuse to Pay War Taxes” about how the issue of nuclear weapons motivated her war tax resistance. 

While looking through NWTRCC’s archive on nuclear issues (that you can access here) I discovered the answer to a question of how long have war tax resisters been opposing nuclear weapons. Some months after the U.S. dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima, Ammon Hennacy and other war tax resisters held public actions on Tax Day, March 15, 1946 and cited nuclear weapons as a good reason to refuse to pay war. I imagine their witness encouraged a new generation of war tax resisters. 

And for some  big news: NWTRCC is turning 40 this year! We will be celebrating this milestone with a weekend of events at our conference November 4-6, 2022.  Save the date and stay tuned for more details! We will be reaching out in months leading up to learn more of your journey with war tax resistance. 

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

The post Reflecting on the Last 40 Years first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Reflecting on the Last 40 Years appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

Photo from Lindsey Britt

This problem isn’t totally unique to war tax resistance, other movements have it, too. I think what makes the situation different with WTR is the length of time a person lives with the state of uncertainty if they’ve chosen to willfully not pay all or a portion of their taxes. Refusing to pay, especially if done year after year, means living in a constant state of of uncertainty. That isn’t appealing to most people. Life is already so full of unknowns that it isn’t surprising people— even those who are activists in other ways don’t want to add more uncertainty to their lives.

There are those who are able to embrace confusion and maybe see accepting the unknowns that come with refusing to pay as part of a life practice of being at peace with their inability to control the world. There are probably others that fight through their dislike of the unknown because they put the cause ahead of their own comfort. Either way, resisting the payment of taxes the government thinks a person owes requires a lot of a person over a lengthy period of time. Even if a person acquiesces after a few months, that’s not nothing; those months might’ve felt very difficult.

This is all part of why I’ve gravitated towards consciously reducing my tax burden through simple living. For me, it’s easier. Living simply aligns with so many of my other values that it’s an obvious choice. My guess would be that a lot of other people who hate war and violence would be attracted to simple living as a way to refuse to pay for war, but that refusing to pay calculated taxes would be a bridge too far for them.

I wonder if this is where NWTRCC should be putting more of its energy: attracting people who are sympathetic to simple living as a way to live their lives in agreement with their values. Maybe this could be the avenue for getting people to resist paying for war, but without having to accept so much uncertainty. Not that living with less money is all a bed of roses (and certainly some people through no choice of their own struggle to survive, let alone thrive, on too little and that’s a national shame), but I’ve found that when it’s in service to many of my deeply held values—not just WTR, but sustainability, leaving enough resources for others, etc.—that living simply is easier to take on, almost a natural progression.

                 Photo by Lindsey Britt

I know this path of war tax resistance may not feel aggressive enough to some people. Indeed it felt quite bold to refuse to pay the IRS what it said I owed whereas reducing my income has felt quieter. But I think there’s something to be said for having more people identify as activists for peace in whatever way they’re able, including earning less money to reduce their tax burden. I think what we as war tax resisters want (or at least this is what I’ve heard from folks during the several years I’ve been involved with NWTRCC) is less violence and more people who say “no” to war and militarization.

If that’s the case then I’d suggest we think seriously about emphasizing simple living as a way to advocate for peace and resist war while we look for ways to network with groups that also promote simple living for other reasons (the health of the Earth, having more time for family, etc.). It would be wonderful to hear and see war tax resistance consistently mentioned in conversations about simple living that are happening outside the WTR sphere. I’d love to hear what others think!

Post by Lindsey Britt

The post Finding Peace in A Constant State of Uncertainty? first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Finding Peace in A Constant State of Uncertainty? appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

Tax Day April 18, 2022, NYC. Photo by Ed Hedemann

War tax resistance is a quarterly, paycheck-to-paycheck or even daily act of resistance to war, depending on your method, but it can be quite solitary. If nothing else, the annual tax day (thanks, IRS!) gives us a chance to act together.

This year our NYC WRL group decided to vigil at the IRS, which is in lower Manhattan, and add a short march down Broadway to Wall Street to take our protest to the corporate war profiteers. Then a friend with a foot in the antiwar movement and NYC Extinction Rebellion helped connect the peace movement tax day action to XR’s Spring Uprising week of actions.

XR tripod-sitter blocking road in NYC financial district. Tax day 2022. Photo by Ed Hedemann

It was a lively affair this year, with a performance by a new street theatre group, Rising Together Guerilla Theater, and the louder demanding voices of more youthful XR activists leading the march chants. NYC WRL activist Mike Levinson spoke well for war tax resistance. The march ended at the Charging Bull statue where XR’s activists were blocking the road with tripods featuring “NO WAR” and “NO WARMING” banners.

Hopefully this will be the start of building an ongoing coalition that more strongly connects the crises of war and climate change.

But that coalition is still too limited. A week before our tax day march, the Poor People’s Campaign held a march on Wall Street as part of their Mobilization Tour for the Mass Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington, June 18, 2022.

Poor People’s Campaign march on Wall Street, April 11, 2022. Photo by Ed Hedemann

Many usual suspects from local peace groups were in the crowd, and the Rising Together Guerilla Theater did a trial run of their skits before the PPC rally started. But we are still working too separately on compatible but parallel paths at times.

Perhaps the fact that organizers of these two marches both chose Wall Street as a destination for protest is a sign that we are destined to pull together more closely and go after the corporations that steal from the poor and fuel war to increase their profits.

— Ruth Benn

Activist Hideko Otake is a prolific chronicler of all kinds of protests in NYC. She has photos and video from tax day and also from the Poor People’s Campaign rally and march.

The post No War, No Warming: Fund Our Future first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post No War, No Warming: Fund Our Future appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.