Southern California War Tax Resistance

Defying the IRS: NO to War Taxes; YES to Peacemaking

April 15th, 2009

Tweaking the notion that death and taxes are inevitable, a local group of peaceniks are withholding their tax dollars so they won’t be used for war-making, then redirecting them to groups that work for justice and peace.

War tax resisters in Southern California have awarded $3100 to eleven organizations. Money for the grants came from interest on a fund made up of refused taxes. The Southern California War Tax Alternative Fund was created in 1979 and has given away more than $58,000 over the years.

A “war tax resister” is anyone who refuses to pay a portion of their federal income tax because they don’t want their tax dollars used to make war, or lives below the taxable limit so that they owe no federal taxes.

An analysis of the federal funds budget for Fiscal Year 2009 concluded that 54 cents of every dollar collected by the IRS goes to pay for war–past, present and future. (See .PDF file at: www.warresisters.org).

Organizations that received SCWTAF grants for 2009 are listed below

• 9to5 Los Angeles–Fighting for rights and respect for women in the workplace
• Arlington West–Presenting films at schools about war and its effects
• California Partnership–Building coalition fighting poverty in California
• Coalition Against Militarism in the Schools–Supplying information left out of military recruitment messages
• Critical Resistance Los Angeles –Educating and campaigning against massive imprisonment in California
• Families to Amend California’s Three Strikes–Campaigning to amend three strikes law to exclude non-violent offenses from triggering 3 strikes penalties
• Global Voices for Justice–Recording and distributing talks and presentations on global justice issues
• Global Womens Strike–Educating and campaigning on peacemaking and social and gender equality
• Killradio.org–Producing anti-corporate internet media
• National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Council–Coordinating communication among war tax resistance groups around the U.S.)
• Union de Vecinos–Campaign to reclaim spaces for peace from gangs in East Los Angeles

Entry Filed under: Special