Than a Paycheck
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More than a paycheck NEWS FROM THE WAR TAX RESISTANCE MOVEMENT October 2006 Brian Willson and the Problem of Obedience by Dana Visalli We must know how the first ruler decisions. One such veteran of military came by his authority. – Locke service is Brian Willson. Brian Willson is known to many people ne of the more mysterious and prob- who are concerned about war and peace Olematic elements of human nature is because of a number of formidable state- our tendency to be obedient; to look ments he has made against the institutional- for external authorities to tell us what to do ized violence known as war that the United with our lives. The Latin root of the word is States regularly visits upon other societies.1 obediere, “to obey, to be submissive.” When Brian was led to first question and then soldiers are told by some purported authori- reject the imposition of external authority ty to march off to war, they almost invariably by his experiences in Vietnam as an Air obey. When taxpayers are told to stuff money Force captain. into envelopes to pay for those wars, they While in Vietnam he was given the job of almost invariably are submissive and do what checking the efficacy of U.S. and South they are told to do, even when they know Vietnamese bombing missions on what were that their resources will be used to kill inno- purported to be Viet Cong-dominated vil- cent human beings. Ironically, it is often lages. He arrived at the first village fifteen people who have served in the military and minutes after the raid, and found the area have experienced firsthand the banality strewn with dead bodies, not of Viet Cong, and brutality of mindless obedience who but of women and children. “He stumbled Brian Willson speaking in Salem, OR, August come to question and then reject external onto the body of a young woman still 2006. Photo by Don Maddox, VfP 56. authority over their own internal ethical continued on page 7 I attribute that to three things–COINTELPRO.* Tax-Exempt Status 501(c)3. Capitalism.” We’ve heard many For those of us involved in war tax resistance, and there are a few others, like War Resisters analyses of what’s wrong with “the left,” but the the issue of working or doing programs with League, one of NWTRCC’s founding groups, who question of tax-exempt status doesn’t usually organizations that have the tax-exempt status decided long ago that applying for 501(c)3 would come up. 501(c)3 comes up fairly frequently. Just recently constrain their work. But this discussion is bub- In the December 2005 MTAP we ran I was talking about a potential WTR workshop bling up in other circles too. Last year I heard a small piece about All Saints Church in with a group for which I have great respect and about the 2004 INCITE women of color against Los Angeles, which is still under investigation by who are very supportive of war tax resistance. violence conference called “The Revolution Will the IRS (see www.allsaints-pas.org). The follow- When I suggested a certain activity as part of Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit ing article was sparked by that event. Shelly the workshop, the organizer hurriedly said, Industrial Complex.” Left Turn Magazine ran Douglass’s note was solicited for this issue. “Oh, no, we couldn’t sponsor that; we’re an article about the conference by Eric Tang, –Ruth Benn 501(c)3.” Admittedly, my suggestion may not “The Non-Profit & The Autonomous have been the most brilliant idea, but I was Grassroots,” which is still available online at Tax-Exempt continued on page 3 surprised at her quick reaction. www.leftturn.org. Tang quoted speaker Suzanne *FBI program aimed at investigating and disrupting NWTRCC is, of course, an organization that Pharr as saying: “We, the Left, have been dissident political organizations within the United States has never considered seeking tax-exempt status, described as being weak, fractured, disorganized. (1956-1971). National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee • P.O. Box 150553, Brooklyn, NY 11215 • (718)768-3420 • (800)269-7464 COUNSELING NOTES Private Tax Collection ■ Contractors cannot solicit direct payment of funds from taxpayers; all payments are sent The IRS’s move to privatize some tax collection directly to the U.S. treasury. has been fairly well publicized. We had heard for ■ Private firms will not be authorized to take some time that this was coming, but in August enforcement actions such as liens, levies three companies were hired and the IRS began or seizures. turning over taxpayer data to them. The federal ■ Private firms will not be authorized to work on government hired Linebarger Goggan Blair & technical issues such as offers in compromise, More than a Sampson, Austin, TX; Pioneer Credit Recovery, bankruptcies, hardship issues, or litigation. paycheck Arcade, NY; and CBE Group, Waterloo, IA. They are tasked to collect from debtors who owe $25,000 ■ Private firms can only contact taxpayers by Editor Ruth Benn or less in back taxes, and who have not disputed phone or mail, and first the IRS will send a let- ter naming the company that will have the case. Production the liability. As was widely publicized, hiring the Rick Bickhart private companies costs the government millions At that point the taxpayer can send a letter to Printing more than hiring more agents and keeping collec- the IRS “opting out” of the private collection Lakeside Printing tion within the IRS, but the obscurities of bureau- program and requesting to deal with the IRS. Cooperative cracy lead to such decisions, along with the current Private companies are out to make a profit, so Printed on Recycled Paper administration’s practice of “outsourcing” govern- how this will play out in their collection tactics is More Than a Paycheck is a ment jobs. Private tax collectors join the private yet to be seen. Congressional opposition continues bimonthly publication of the companies who send thousands of contractors and to the privatization plans. The House approved a National War Tax Resistance mercenaries to do military jobs in Iraq–and we ban on the use of fiscal 2007 funding to pay for it, Coordinating Committee, a clearinghouse and resource know how well that is working. The collection and a Senate bill was introduced recently to stop center for the conscientious agencies will keep a percentage of what they collect, the process, but so far the IRS is moving ahead. war tax resistance which comes to about 24 cents on the dollar. movement in the United What does this mean to WTRs? Since most of our And Ironically..... States. NWTRCC is a information is anecdotal, we rely on stories from The IRS is cutting the jobs of nearly half the coalition of local, regional and national affiliate groups readers contacted by private collectors to let us know lawyers who audit the returns of wealthy people working on war tax what happens. The IRS has announced measures subject to gift and estate taxes. The plan has been related issues. that are supposed to protect taxpayer privacy and criticized by the National Treasury Employees NWTRCC sees poverty, racism, keep private collectors accountable including: Union that represents many IRS workers. Union sexism, homophobia, economic Counseling Notes continued on page 5 exploitation, environmental destruction and militarization of law enforcement as integrally linked with the militarism which we abhor.Through the Many Thanks Network Updates redirection of our tax dollars, NWTRCC members contribute directly to the struggle for peace and justice for all. Many thanks to the following groups that have given since After soliciting changes from the individuals and groups our last newsletter. Your support makes a difference! who are NWTRCC counselors, area contacts, affiliates, Subscriptions to and alternative funds, we are in the process of updating More Than a Paycheck WTR Life Fund of Lehigh Valley are $15 per year. the list. Please contact the office if you would like the NWTRCC In August NWTRCC received the final payment from printed list for your region or the complete national list. a bequest from the estate of Joni Ross from New York The list on the website continues to be updated, but we P.O. Box 150553 City. In total we received just over $4,200, with the first don’t list some contacts who do not have email or do not Brooklyn, NY 11215 half arriving in October 2003. This has been a significant want their phone numbers listed on the web. (718) 768-3420 (800) 269-7464 donation for a group with a budget as small as ours, and States that still need a contact include: Nebraska, FAX: (718) 768-4388 we have been able to hold some of it in reserve for special Hawaii, West Virginia, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, email: [email protected] projects or very tight times. We are very thankful for this Arkansas, and Mississippi. Please let the office know any Web: www.nwtrcc.org thoughtful gesture and hope that others will remember ideas for groups or individuals active in those states who NWTRCC when making their wills. might serve as a NWTRCC contact. PAGE 2 More than a paycheck • October 2006 Tax-Exempt Status News of Jesus Christ. This is never easy, it we do might be considered ‘political’ in continued from page 1 requires a certain amount of independence, the sense that we strive to question, chal- an independence difficult to secure when lenge, and confront our present society and All Saints vs. the State financially dependent on anything.