2 days Ago
The recent indiscriminate killing of over 400 Palestinians by Israel’s military forces might not summon thoughts of the April 15 IRS tax filing deadline, but they are connected. The attack marked one of the deadliest days of the war. The link is your taxes are funding the bombs that kill children.
The manipulation of food, water, medicine and electricity used as a weapon is tolerated only due to the financial, political and military support from the United States. With the United States’ continued financial support of Israel, tax resistance as a protest is gaining momentum. The war tax resistance movement, as advocated by the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, involves refusing to pay some or all federal taxes that fund military activities.
It is a form of civil disobedience. Americans have withheld their taxes in protest of the nation’s wars throughout the country’s history, from faith-based Quaker movements to Vietnam War protesters. Henry David Thoreau famously spent a night in prison for refusing to pay his taxes in service of the Mexican-American War.
If your wondering how effective tax resistance can be an example is found in Great Britain where in 1990 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher attempted to introduce a new so-called poll tax . The tax was widely perceived as unfair and burdensome to middle- and low-income people. Huge protests broke out across the country.
Thatcher lost public support and members of her own party challenged her on the issue eventually causing her to resign from office. The appropriate method of war tax resistance is the intentional withholding of all, or a portion of taxes owed, typically accompanied by a letter of admission and explanation to the IRS. Be forewarned that deliberately withholding taxes may result in legal consequences, typically involving fines and penalties.
Nevertheless, such an action is worth considering on the basis of sacred human rights principles. There is both a moral and legal basis for taking this kind of action. The Leahy law bans U.
S. military funding to foreign governments that have committed violations of human rights. In the past U.
S. State Department has suspended aid to Colombia, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh, among others. However, instead of withholding aid to Israel, our government has increased it, demonstrating a clear double standard.
In 2024 alone, the U.S. government allocated at least $17.
9 billion in military aid to Israel, funding that directly results in the killing of Palestinians. We are all bearing the cost of this aggression with our tax dollars. According to the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action , that money could have instead funded free or low-cost health care for one year for millions of people in the U.
S. Pennsylvania’s contribution amounted to $640,536,588 in weapons, an obscene amount of war funding that could provide instead life-sustaining aid to so many in need here: 401,590 households with one month’s free rent; 1,347,788 families with one month’s free groceries; 222,872 children receiving free lunches for one year; 6,993 schoolteachers’ salaries for one year; and 16,951 students with their loan debt canceled. Since Oct.
7, 2023, the United States Agency for International Development has provided $1 billion in humanitarian aid to Palestine. During the same period, the U.S.
allocated $17.9 billion to Israel, contributing to the destruction of Gaza, the mass killing of Palestinians and the creation of a humanitarian crisis. Many tax resisters are not members of any pro-Palestinian or anti-Zionist organization but are committed due to their revulsion over the ongoing destruction of life in Gaza.
Many Americans have expressed sympathy with Palestine over Israel , with many advocating for an arms embargo. The people’s demands are clear and unequivocal. We need our members of Congress, particularly Rep.
Ryan Mackenzie, R-7th District, to listen to their constituents and their conscience. They must say no to any military funding for Israel and to keep open humanitarian access to Gaza. The U.
S. government is immorally complicit in the deaths of Palestinian children and families. It is imperative to end military conflict in Gaza and establish genuine peace and justice for both Israelis and Palestinians.
This is a contributed opinion column. Mohammed Khaku is past president of Al Ahad Islamic Center in Allentown. The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author, and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication.
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