Today I sent my first War Tax Resistance letter to the IRS as coordinated by the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee. As explained below, this is neither a money-saving scheme nor a get-out-of-jail-free scheme.
Dear IRS Employee,
As a conscientious objector
to war, I will not pay my 2014 income tax. I believe war killing is
wrong and therefore I cannot pay for it. There are other ways for
nations to resolve their conflicts with one another besides through
war killing.
The U.S. government spends
nearly half its budget on war & preparations for war. This type
of spending does not reflect my humanitarian values and therefore I
will not support it.
I am paying my
self-employment tax ($7,503; line 57) and health care individual
responsibility ($629; line 61), which total $8,132. My 2014 total
estimated payments is $7,075 (line 74). I am sending the difference
($8,132 - $7,075 = $1,057) to you. I am sending the full amount of
my income tax ($2,964; line 47) and my estimated tax penalty ($21;
line 79) to the Peace Tax Escrow Fund of the Purchase Quarterly
Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends to be held until the U.S.
Government finds a way to wage non-violent war.
I am not opposed to paying
taxes. I want to fulfill my financial responsibilities to the country
I live in but I also cannot violate my religious beliefs. The federal
government funds essential aspects needed for a healthy country &
world, such as education, public transportation, housing, natural
disaster relief, health care, job training, humanitarian assistance.
But since I know that the majority of my tax dollars will not go
towards any of this, I will continue to redirect my tax dollars to
the Peace Tax Escrow Fund of the Purchase Quarterly Meeting of the
Religious Society of Friends to be held until the U.S. Government
finds a way to wage non-violent war.
Sincerely,
Thomas Gail Haws
cc:
Representative Matt Salmon
Senator Jeff Flake
Senator John McCain
Purchase Quarterly Meeting
of the Religious Society of Friends
War Tax Resistance
Coordinating Committee
2 comments:
Congratulations on your resistance, Tom! Stay in touch!
Wow! You are amazing. I don't know how you found my blog or this post. Thanks so much for your guidance and support. Having your presence on the web is a huge help.
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