Tax Day Protests Demand End to War and Military Spending
War tax resisters redirect tax dollars from the Pentagon to people
Calling for an end to endless war and for funding for people and planet, thousands of people across the United States are taking public action from April 15 through tax day,Tuesday, April 17. From Maine to Los Angeles, featuring bake sales, marching bands, street theater, and “Burma shave” sign displays during rush hour, participants will take their message to the public, the IRS, and to the offices of elected officials.
Not waiting for the government to act, some activists will openly refuse to pay their taxes to the IRS and give the money to humanitarian programs instead. Bill Glassmire of Corvallis, Oregon, says, “I am resisting war taxes in order to redirect resources away from U.S. militarism and routine violence and toward building a peaceful and healthy earth.”
In Berkeley, California, members of Northern California People’s Life Fund will redirect over $65,000 in resisted war taxes in a public granting ceremony on April 15. The group was founded by war tax resisters in 1971 to pool their resisted war taxes, and this is the largest amount they’ve ever granted. People's Life Fund member Susan Quinlan says, “There are so many excellent groups that are working to protect families, communities and the natural environment, and we are delighted to support these efforts. With U.S. military spending surpassing $1 trillion, we invite others to imagine what good could come from redirecting these military funds on a grand scale.”
Also on Sunday, April 15, a coalition of more than 100 groups nationally is sponsoring rallies and marches under the banner of “End U.S. Wars at Home and Abroad.” Minnesota War Tax Resisters will be marching in Minneapolis, and members of New York City War Resisters League will demand “taxes for peace” in the Manhattan march. Noura Khouri, who will be joining the march in Oakland, California, says, “Tax resistance is a way to address all of the overwhelming issues facing the earth and its people at this time where literally everything of importance and of value to our communities is under attack.”
More local actions, large and small, are planned for tax day itself, April 17. The Peace Resource Center of San Diego is holding a bake sale in front of the IRS office in San Diego to “envision a time when schools have all the money they need and the air force needs to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.”
In Kingston, New York, activists along with the Tin Horn Uprising marching band will make their demand to “Cut War Spending — Fund Human Needs” in front of Congressman John Faso’s office.
In Knoxville, Tennessee, the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance will drive their “UPF Bomb Plant Express” to Senator Lamar Alexander’s office and ask for an answer to their question, “Why are you spending our tax dollars on a uranium processing bomb plant when we need raises for teachers, housing for the homeless, affordable health insurance for hundreds of thousands of uninsured Tennesseans, protections for the environment?”
The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC) has coordinated tax day actions since 1983. The full list of actions with more details and local contact information is at http://nwtrcc.org/programs-
NWTRCC is a coalition of local, regional and national groups providing information and support to people who are conscientious objectors to paying taxes for war. NWTRCC partners with the Global Days of Action on Military Spending coordinated from Barcelona, Spain, to join protests of war spending in the U.S. with a demand for global disarmament and a shift in priorities to sustainable development.
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Resources:
War tax resisters are available for interviews. Please contact NWTRCC, 1-800-269-7464, nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org, for contacts in your area.
List of tax day actions - http://nwtrcc.org/programs-
“Where Your Income Tax Money Really Goes” — War Resisters League pie chart, https://www.warresisters.org/
Global Day of Action on Military Spending, http://demilitarize.org/
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