Taxes and death are the only certainties in this world, said Benjamin Franklin. But the refusal to pay tribute remains an important gesture of protest in American history. Even today, citizens plan to deprive the government of this revenue. The “resistance through taxes” movement is gaining ground.
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“For many people, considering not paying your taxes or delaying the process seems like an extreme measure,” notes Christina Thompson, joined in Maryland. But the current situation “is not normal,” adds the coordinator of the National Tax Strike.
This group was created a little over a year ago. To protest government cuts, immigration enforcement (ICE) tactics, military operations or Congressional inaction, he advocates civil disobedience through taxes.
The most radical – and illegal – option is to refuse to pay the amount owed and can result in penalties up to and including imprisonment. The “slow down method” involves waiting until the April 15 deadline to send your tax return. If possible by mail, then making payment in person or by check. “To make the payment more complicated,” explains Mme Thompson.
The goal is not to defund the government – that is not realistic – but to show in a public and non-violent way that we do not support the unconstitutional actions of this government.
Christina Thompson, National Tax Strike Coordinator
Participants are invited to make their position known, by attaching a letter to their declaration. It is not an anti-tax movement, often associated with the right, but a refusal to finance certain choices. Members of the National Tax Strike were at the No Kings protests on Saturday to raise awareness of this option.
Withholding taxes
In an automated world, Americans must fill out a form to change their withholding taxes if they want to exercise control over payments. Unlike the Canada Revenue Agency, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), its American counterpart, does not require supporting documents for advance tax credits.
“You can always update the form to lower or eliminate the withholding tax,” explains Lincoln Rice, coordinator of the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC).
The members of this committee, born in 1982, oppose taxes for military budgets. However, they pay local taxes, and amounts for health insurance and social security are still deducted. The organization supports the National Tax Strike.
We cannot measure the number of participants in the tax boycott, nor in what form they participate. Mr. Rice, however, notes an increase in visits to the NWTRCC site, first after the start of operations in Gaza in 2023, then with the cuts in public administration shortly after the arrival of Donald Trump and the brutal tactics of ICE. From 40,000 unique visitors in a year before October 2023, the number increased to more than 110,000 in a month in January, Mr. Rice points out.
Refusal to finance the war
Reached by telephone in Brooklyn, Ed Hedemann has a long track record of “resisting taxes and war fees.” The 81-year-old refused conscription in 1969 and opposed war taxes soon after. “It was inconsistent for me to refuse to go, but to pay the government to send other people,” he explains, ensuring that he has paid the equivalent of the amounts owed to organizations.
He was chased by the IRS, but since the statute of limitations for recovering the money is 10 years, the majority of the debt is erased, he assures.
Cuts to the IRS, which has lost about a quarter of its staff, could make measures against holdouts even more difficult to enforce.
The protesters draw on a long tradition – the rejection of an unrepresentative tribute in 1773, the refusal of Henry David Thoreau to pay his taxes in 1846 to protest against slavery and the war in Mexico, the boycott of a tax for the war in Vietnam in the 1970s. It is above all a means of pressure. “From a purely monetary perspective, the impact would be negligible,” notes Vanessa Williamson, senior fellow at the Brooking Institution and author of the book Read my Lips: Why Americans are Happy to Pay Taxes.
A high number of Americans still view paying taxes as a “patriotic” gesture, according to his research. But she fears a drop in sentiment if IRS cuts shake confidence.
The costs of the war in Iran also worry economists, even if the Treasury Secretary assured that there would be no increase in taxes to finance operations.
“It’s going to have to increase at some point,” said Heidi Peltier, a senior research associate at Brown University. Especially if the war continues. Interest on debt accumulates quickly. “It’s not a viable model,” adds the woman who is participating in a project on the costs of wars.
