Posted on 04/18/2005 9:39:07 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
In order to keep apprised of what the lefty loonies in my area are up to, I subscribe to one of their Yahoo groups.
The letter below, addressed to the IRS, appeared on the site on Tax Day, April 15th. It is from a local person who, as a member of the "War Tax Resisters" refuses to pay his federal income tax.
I encourage FReepers to read it to get a revealing peek inside the far-left mind. It is a treasure trove of self-righteousness and delusion. Above all, the author seems to give no consideration to the social contract - the idea that in paying our taxes, all of us indirectly support things to which we strongly object. But if everyone indulged his vanity as the author does, our society would cease to exist.
I know what some people are thinking - why doesn't the IRS simply prosecute these people who so brazenly flout the law? I have no idea, and certainly wish they would.
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April 15, 2005
Internal Revenue Service
Andover, MA 05501-0002
Dear Internal Revenue Service Person:
I enclose this letter with my completed tax form as an explanation about why I cannot, in good conscience, pay the tax money that is demanded of me by the I.R.S. and the United States government--$1,783.28—for the 2004 tax year.
Approximately 16 years ago, I began—as a spiritual discipline, to monitor every penny that went in and out of my life. Out of this discipline, I have become increasingly aware that how I spend my money—as it symbolizes my life energy—is a very concrete expression of my purpose and intent in this world.
I began to look at how some of the Federal tax dollars are used to fund projects and purposes of which I am in total disagreement with and which I don’t believe I can call my own. For instance, I believe that much of the land we Americans live on is, in fact, stolen land. I believe that some of the people living here are, in fact, descendants of stolen people who have not been adequately recompensed for their history of pain.
My principles dictate, as well, against the spending of my life energies for the express purpose of creating war. I cannot, in good faith, support the building and selling of weapons all around the world—often to dictatorial regimes—when there are so many starving children in the world. Many people in our very own country suffer for lack of adequate education, health care, housing, justice—way too much of our tax dollars, I believe, are going to uphold the interests of the wealthy.
The events of September 11th, 2001, were truly horrifying with so many innocent people losing their lives. These events, and the subsequent U.S. response have helped to galvanize my community and myself to work even more intensively for a world with peace and justice.
I am finding my country’s continued foreign and domestic response since September 11, 2001, to be unacceptable. For instance, the war on Iraq is a stupendous example of a foreign policy that puts the U.S. onto a dangerous path of unilateral preemption. If I could believe that this war was about truly liberating the Iraqi people, I might think differently. However, I believe it is a war about deepening U.S. geopolitical dominance in the Middle East, which I cannot support.
On a domestic front, we find our civil liberties under increasing attack through the USA Patriot Act and so-called “Homeland Security”, with a possible Patriot Act II looming on the horizon.
On an economic front, the U.S intensifies its giveaway to corporate interests in the form of tax cuts to rich individuals and corporations while poor people continue to suffer lives of poverty.
I realize that the U.S. government is involved in some good works, which I could wholeheartedly support. The problem I come up against when considering whether or not to willingly hand over my tax dollars is that I know that a certain percentage of my life energy will still go to the maintenance of a military-industrial complex that I just can’t support. As you will see at the end of this letter, I have redirected all of the money I would have paid in Federal taxes to organizations that I believe are working for meaningful change in this country and in the world.
By this action of refusing to pay my taxes—and subsequently redirecting them—I hope to affirm a deepening of my country’s democratic traditions. In my vision, we would expand beyond a representational democracy to more of a participatory democracy. I’ve come to believe that it takes a lot of money to even become a representative in the U.S. government. I have seen too many times throughout the history of this country that the government primarily defends and supports the interests of the more privileged. I believe that our budget should be focused on helping those at the bottom of the economic ladder, rather than those at the top.
I like to remind myself occasionally of what Thomas Jefferson said some 200 hundred years ago. Jefferson felt that our nation would need to undergo periodic revolutions in order to remain vital and alive. I see my tax refusal as part of this revolutionary energy and hope that others will similarly begin to take their own rightful power into their own hands—nonviolently. Lets not forget that part of the American Revolution from England included tax resistance.
Here is the breakdown of how I actually redirected the tax money that is demanded of me:
***$50.00—American Cancer Society (Relay for Life)—National fund designed to help fund research for victims of cancer http://www.acsrelay.org
***$20.00—American Friends Service Committee--The American Friends Service Committee carries out service, development, social justice, and peace programs throughout the world. AFSC was founded by Quakers in 1917 to provide conscientious objectors with an opportunity to aid civilian war victims www.afsc.org
***$15.00—Border Fund
***$50.00—Chicory Center—Community-supported agriculture center and farm Southwest Michigan. Retreat center for Chicago-area activists.
***$100.00—Circle of Recovery—Self-help group for African-American men in need of support in Ithaca, NY. Also provides services to male students at Ithaca High School
***$185.00—City of Ithaca/Buffalo Street 25 Defense Fund—Legal defense fund set up for those who committed civil disobedience in Ithaca soon after U.S. war on Iraq started…
***$67.77—Ithaca Catholic Worker—Local organization working to bring justice and peace to people of Palestine, Israel, Columbia and Iraq (among other places) by providing witness on the ground in these countries….
***$59.73—Luminary News—Local news and information show on cable access TV that brings news not otherwise available to viewers of Tompkins County…
***$10.00—MoveOn.org--MoveOn builds electronic advocacy groups. Examples of such issues are campaign finance, environmental and energy issues, media consolidation, or the Iraq war
***$100.00—National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC)-- The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC) is a coalition of groups from across the U.S. to provide information and support to people involved in or considering some form of war tax resistance. We oppose militarism and war and refuse to complicitly participate in the tax system which supports such violence. NWTRCC sees poverty, racism, sexism, homophobia, economic exploitation, environmental destruction and militarization of law enforcement as integrally linked with the militarism which we abhor. Through the redirection of our tax dollars NWTRCC members contribute directly to the struggle for peace and justice for all. NWTRCC promotes war tax resistance within the context of a broad range of nonviolent strategies for social change, and is firmly embedded in the peace movement www.nwtrcc.org
***$40.00—New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG)--NYPIRG is New York State's largest student-directed consumer, environmental and government reform organization. NYPIRG a nonpartisan, not-for-profit group established to effect policy reforms while training students and other New Yorkers to be advocates www.nypirg.org
***$10.03—Offender, Aid, and Restoration (OAR)--Provides services and advocacy for inmates in the Tompkins County jail, ex-offenders, and offenders' families to aid in their re-adjustment into the community
***$30.00—Permaculture Network of the Finger Lakes--Permaculture is a practical set of ecological design principles and methods for human settlements which can be applied to urban, suburban and watershed scale
***$40.00—Positive News--Positive News is a quarterly international newspaper reporting on the people, events and influences that are helping to create a more positive future for the world and its people. Positive News continues to expand in response to a global yearning for a new world organized on the principles of democracy and social justice; respect for diversity and the earth's natural resources; and a new definition of power.
***$20.00—Prisoner Express--Dedicated to filling the hole of reading material (www.alternativeslibrary.org) needed by prisoners created by Department of Corrections’ departments that spend many millions building and remodeling prisons - but neglect the need and thirst of imprisoned men and women for quality reading material
***$33.00—Stop the Wall Campaign—The goals of this campaign are: 1) To stop “the wall” [that Israel is building to separate Israel from Palestine] and its expected consequences to environmental and human rights, and 2) To shed light on the expanding stranglehold of the Occupation, marked by checkpoints, closures, siege, settlements, and the Wall.
***$770.52—Tompkins County Living Wage Coalition/Workers’ Rights Center—Local activist coalition that works for a living/sustainable wage and workers’ rights for all people through many different contexts www.tclivingwage.org
***$100.00—Tompkins County Quality of Life Fund—Started by TC Legislator Michael Koplinka-Loehr to support the programs and activities of Tompkins County’s Government Services. Having a permanent mechanism for voluntary contributions will enable annual efforts to supplement County programs that tax dollars could never cover
***$50.00—War Tax Resisters Penalty Fund—National fund www.nonviolence.org/issues/wtrpf/ to help support “war tax resisters” when funds are “taken” by the Internal Revenue Service
***$50.00—World Teach—Based at the Center for International Development at Harvard University, World Teach www.worldteach.org provides opportunities for individuals to make a meaningful contribution to international education by living and working as volunteer teachers in developing countries
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$1,783.28—Grand total of tax money redirected that I would have paid to the I.R.S.
I conclude my letter with a statement made by a Mennonite pastor, John K. Stoner. “We are war tax resisters because we have discovered some doubt as to what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God, and have decided to give the benefit of the doubt to God.” I sincerely encourage you to treat my letter and my actions with respect. I know, as well, that you have a job to do and will respect that to the fullest degree possible.
Pete Meyers
Tax expert FReepers: If $1800 represents his tax burden, how much does this joker make?
Two years in the slammer plus penalties and interest ought to just about cover it ...
He's gonna need to redirect some more money for bail and a lawyer.
Finally!
A good, composite list of organizations not to give money to.
Don't have to be an expert for that - you can get it straight from the tables. It depends on his filing status, but assuming he's single, $1783 in federal tax means his income was between $14,250 and $14,300. Add about $2000 if he's married filing jointly.
You didn't even tell folks here the worst of it. Running as the Green Pary candidate for county sheriff in 2002, this guy managed to get 26% of the vote.
Hmmmm ..... I note that Pete sent several dollars to activities within the 'City of Evil' .... 'nuff said!
How long did Al Capone go away for tax evasion? He should get the same.
Same here. I don't think my tax dollars should go for anything but road building and the military.
I agree with this person - make taxes "voluntary."
More of the Clinton legacy . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . all me all the time.
me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, etc.
Sounds like he's a fairly incompetent professional protestor.
Noam Chomsky and Jesse Jackson are in that line and they do much better.
BTW, there are a fair amount of Freepers who also are admitted tax evaders. Hope we don't try and distinguish among lawbreakers.
I think we're probably over-thinking this.
$10 says that the idiot is only concentrating on the amount he under-withheld (i.e. owes on 15 April)-- not even taking into consideration the fact that he's been paying taxes all year.
If it would make him feel any better. ALL HIS money went to promote homersexuals..............Mine when to pay for the war to make this world a better place.
Seriously. This guy's got nothing on the Reverend Al when it comes to shakedowns. On the other hand, who's left in Ithaca to shake down? Everyone's been bled white by now.
I agree, this is probably just the tax owed, not total tax liability.
Keeping in mind, of course, that there's a difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion.
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