War Tax Resistance

[Ya know, most people actually believe that the only sure things are death and taxes. They are just as afraid of refusing taxes for govt’s immoral actions as they are of death.

I refused to file a return or pay taxes on my paltry income as a student from 1964-1969 when I decamped for Canada.

The first instance of war tax refusal was by Job Scott, a Quaker minister. He refused to pay taxes in 1776 and 1777 to support the Revolutionary War.

It is not ’tax fraud’ if you fail to file a return, only if you fudge the numbers. Nor is refusal ’tax evasion’. I sent a very clear letter to the IRS every year, along with my blank return—return to sender!

No resister is hiding from the govt. Take a risk. Only death is inevitable, not taxes.]

‘Tax resistance’ gains attention amid ICE protests, Iran war

Mike Winters and Kate Dore

CNBC: 21 March 2026

• Amid the Iran war, some “tax protesters” are planning to withhold some or all of their federal income taxes owed.

• However, the IRS has said repeatedly that moral or religious beliefs don’t exempt filers from their tax responsibility.

Chicago attorney Rachel Cohen, a 31-year-old community organizer filed her federal tax return, which shows a balance due of $8,830, according to a tax document reviewed by CNBC. But Cohen said she deliberately chose to withhold payment of that bill as a protest against immigration detention, including ICE facilities, and U.S. strikes on Iran launched without congressional approval.

IRS tactics include wage garnishment, a tax lien on property or even jail time.

Cohen’s protest follows a long tradition of war tax resistance, in which people withhold some or all of their federal taxes to oppose government policies.

Typically, there’s an uptick in tax protesting — with filers holding back some or all of their tax payments — when the U.S. government engages in a war or other “controversial” activities, she said.

That appears to be happening again, according to the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, an educational nonprofit founded in the early 1980s by activists connected to the anti-Vietnam War movement.

The group’s website had averaged about 40,000 unique visitors a year until the war in Gaza began in 2023, according to Lincoln Rice, the organization’s coordinator. In January 2026 alone, traffic surged to more than 110,000 visitors.

Those approaches vary. Some protesters file their tax returns but refuse to pay the balance owed, while others deliberately pay less than they owe, Rice said. Some also choose not to file at all, which can expose them to steeper penalties. Ruth Benn a volunteer at National War Tax Resistance Committee has refused to file since the Vietnam War.

However, failing to pay federal income taxes is still illegal. Those who don’t pay could still face penalties, interest and collection actions, and in some cases, willful failure to pay taxes can be charged as a criminal offense.

While some Americans object to funding certain government programs, moral or religious beliefs don’t exempt taxpayers from paying federal income taxes, according to the IRS.

I think the use of "soaring" to describe this movement is an exaggeration of reality. I hope the reporters keep tabs on some of these individuals. I want to hear them lament the interest and penalties they will face.

The IRS doesn't seem to take much interest. No tax resister has a really big take or a really big profile. No prosecutions, though some houses have been auctioned, and purchased by the community to gift to the resister.

8 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

The IRS doesn't seem to take much interest. No tax resister has a really big take or a really big profile. No prosecutions, though some houses have been auctioned, and purchased by the community to gift to the resister.

BS ... trust me, you don't want to be on the IRS's 'sh!t list'

I wonder why so many left-wing women seem to struggle with mental health issues. There must be something missing in their lives. I know someone who decided he was not required to pay federal taxes, and that decision came back to bite him hard years later.

12 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

BS ... trust me, you don't want to be on the IRS's 'sh!t list'

The original poster is misinformed. The wheels turn slowly, but she will not appreciate the outcome.

37 minutes ago, Fact said:

The original poster is misinformed. The wheels turn slowly, but she will not appreciate the outcome.

I was on the IRS 'sh!t list' for awhile, and rather annoying. Free speech isn't free.

Along with attending plenty of GSA auctions of repo'd houses & vehicles. Great source of income, buy & sell of repo'd cars. Houses were usually silly priced, as if back on taxes, you were probably back on high mortgage, and 'banks' reserve price was already too high to bother.

HINT: don't drive the car you buy to sell for profit. Bought a Firebird at one GSA auction, and damn that car was fun to drive. Yea, kept it, added to the rest of the vehicles I didn't need at the time.

2 hours ago, KhunLA said:

BS ... trust me, you don't want to be on the IRS's 'sh!t list'

That certainly is true for people who'd rather be forgotten. Not tax resisters! We want to have wars and their costs become public knowledge.

2 hours ago, Fact said:

I wonder why so many left-wing women seem to struggle with mental health issues. There must be something missing in their lives. I know someone who decided he was not required to pay federal taxes, and that decision came back to bite him hard years later.

2 hours ago, Fact said:

I wonder why so many left-wing women seem to struggle with mental health issues. There must be something missing in their lives. I know someone who decided he was not required to pay federal taxes, and that decision came back to bite him hard years later

Okay, tell us more. The whys and hows.

Left wing, right wing, ho hum. You can't get any more creative than that?

And you think Ruth Benn is doing this for any other reason than anti-war?!?

2 hours ago, Fact said:

The original poster is misinformed. The wheels turn slowly, but she will not appreciate the outcome.

2 hours ago, Fact said:

The original poster is misinformed. The wheels turn slowly, but she will not appreciate the outcome.

Ruth is now in her 80s. Not a scratch.

Just wondering whether, if tax payers were allowed to opt out of paying taxes for certain items, like the military, whether most would opt out or not. Would this lower the national debt as a result?

I have an American friend who was an attorney (he has since passed on) and he would do all his business under an LLC and shift things around every 5 years and completely avoid paying taxes for a decade or longer. In the interim he had multiple real estate transactions and we are talking about very significant sums of money that he owed, well into six figures. Every 10 years he would contact a CPA/ tax attorney and have the guy negotiate a settlement with the IRS. Since the IRS couldn't find him they would essentially take whatever his attorney would offer which was typically about 10% of what he owed. He got away with that for decades and saved perhaps a million dollars in taxes.

The unfortunate part of this equation is that most wealthy people do not pay a lot of taxes and it's mostly middle class and poor people that are paying the most tax. Corporations hide behind a hundred different loopholes and some of the biggest corporations in America pay the least amount of tax which is an ethical crime. The same applies to most American billionaires. Even the president barely pays taxes. So why should we, if we have more creative options?

5 hours ago, Purdey said:

Just wondering whether, if tax payers were allowed to opt out of paying taxes for certain items, like the military, whether most would opt out or not. Would this lower the national debt as a result?

That's a very prescient thought and, unfortunately one the taxman will never permit. Slippery slope and all that.

Given the choice, I wouldn't pay a nickel for militaries, past or present or future war debts. Prisons, maybe even police, courts and judges just to see how that works out.

Many expat americans who are settled abroad are actually surrendering their US passports and nationality and naturalizing themselves in their countries of residence when possible. And btw, this has been going on long before we ever heard of Trump.

14 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

I have an American friend who was an attorney (he has since passed on) and he would do all his business under an LLC and shift things around every 5 years and completely avoid paying taxes for a decade or longer. In the interim he had multiple real estate transactions and we are talking about very significant sums of money that he owed, well into six figures. Every 10 years he would contact a CPA/ tax attorney and have the guy negotiate a settlement with the IRS. Since the IRS couldn't find him they would essentially take whatever his attorney would offer which was typically about 10% of what he owed. He got away with that for decades and saved perhaps a million dollars in taxes.

Sounds like you admire him. A criminal tax cheat.

16 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

I have an American friend who was an attorney (he has since passed on) and he would do all his business under an LLC and shift things around every 5 years and completely avoid paying taxes for a decade or longer. In the interim he had multiple real estate transactions and we are talking about very significant sums of money that he owed, well into six figures. Every 10 years he would contact a CPA/ tax attorney and have the guy negotiate a settlement with the IRS. Since the IRS couldn't find him they would essentially take whatever his attorney would offer which was typically about 10% of what he owed. He got away with that for decades and saved perhaps a million dollars in taxes.

They say that the company you keep reflects who you are.

16 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

The unfortunate part of this equation is that most wealthy people do not pay a lot of taxes and it's mostly middle class and poor people that are paying the most tax. Corporations hide behind a hundred different loopholes and some of the biggest corporations in America pay the least amount of tax which is an ethical crime. The same applies to most American billionaires. Even the president barely pays taxes. So why should we, if we have more creative options?

The data shows you are incorrect. I understand that it may not matter what the data indicates; your views seem to be unwavering, and you will likely never concede that what I posted is accurate.

https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/who-pays-federal-income-taxes-tax-year-2023/

5 hours ago, Yagoda said:

Sounds like you admire him. A criminal tax cheat.

This is what all the rich do. You're just envious. Less money for govt to do nasty things with.