War Tax Resistance overview

In honor of Income Tax Day here in the U.S., here are some links to sites on war tax resistance.

There are many ways to participate in militarism. The most obvious is to personally fight in a war, but another way is in financing its deeds. The United States military makes up a huge portion of the federal budget. It is estimated that 53 percent of income taxes go to pay for past, present and future wars. Nothing else comes close to this expenditure, and budget-cutting in education, environmental protection and the social safety net is a direct result of decisions to put the money into preparation for war. For more on the reasons for this form of protest, check out Nonviolence.org's own guide to war tax resistance and the very excellent Philosophy of Nonviolence.

The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee is a coalition of local groups, alternative funds, contacts and counselors working to support, coordinate, and publicize conscientious objection to the payment of taxes for war. The NWTRCC coalition protests a tax system that supports war, and it redirects tax dollars to fund life-affirming efforts.

The War Tax Resistance Penalty Fund is an organization that ties together war tax resisters and their supports. When penalties are levied, all the contributors pay a small amount to help defray the resister's costs. This is a way for to support the principle of war tax resistance for those who don't feel ready to resist themselves.

Where Your Income Tax Money Really Goes is a popular flyer from the War Resisters League.

The National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund advocates for legislation enabling conscientious objection to war and to have the military portion of objectors' federal income taxes directed to a special fund for projects that enhance peace.

The Friends Committee on National Legislation and the War Resisters League both regularly compile statistics about military spending as a percentage of income tax.

Hang up on War is a campaign launched in October 2003 by a coalition including WRL and NWTRCC.