The Cavalier daily :: Wednesday, October 11, 1972 :: University of Virginia Library

As the genocidal war in
Indochina continues, so does
our complicity as American
citizens. The form of the U.S.
invasion of Vietnam has
changed from Truman and
Eisenhower's economic aid to
Kennedy's "special war" to
Johnson's land war to Nixon's
electronic battlefield and air
war.

But individual responsibility
for over twenty-five years of
deceit and destruction does not
change. It is up to us to protest
and resist in any manner which
is effective.

War tax resistance is one
method. Of course, Congress
should take the initiative in
refusing to vote for military
appropriations and by taxing
the rich instead of the poor.
Since Congress will not do so,
individuals must act to create a
spirit of resistance to the war
and to the capitalist system.

For some, war tax resistance
can be a first step. Over
two-thirds of the Federal
budget pays for past and
present wars, for aid to
Portugal's suppression of
people in Africa, and at home
for Justice Department
prosecution of Black Panthers,
the Vietnam Veterans Against
the War, the Berrigans, and
now Ellsberg and Russo. Like
Thoreau, we have other
priorities for the use of our
money.

The most widespread tax
protest is directed against the
10% federal phone tax which
Wilbur Mills, Chairman of the
House Ways and Means
Committee, described as being
necessitated by the Vietnam
war (Congressional Record,
Feb. 23, 1966).

In order to refuse, one
simply deducts the ten per cent
charge from the bill, after
informing Virginia Tel. & Tel.
why you are doing so. Don't
worry. The phone company
will not shut off service and
the government has not
prosecuted anyone for this.
Va.T.&T. simply balances its
computers and informs the
Internal Revenue Service, who
will later collect along with 6%
interest from your bank
account or salary.

However, IRS in
Charlottesville is almost two
years behind in collection
efforts. People in the dorms
can easily refuse and may be
able to split town by the time
they come to collect, giving
IRS further collection
headaches. (Make sure the
hone is in the name of
someone in your suite who is
willing to refuse.) Join the
100,000 plus who are
boycotting this war tax.

Other people may decide to
refuse to pay the income tax or
to avoid withholding taxes
through a variety of methods.
For information and advice
about methods and legal
consequences, contact either
War Tax Resistance, 339
Lafayette St., New York, N.Y.
10012 or me c/o AFFP, P.O
Box 72X, Newcomb Hall Sta.,
Charlottesville, Va. 22901.

Tax refusal is one aspect of
tax resistance. Another is using
the money for more
worthwhile purposes, such as a
community fund to deal with
problems here in town or
contributions to projects such
as the Charlottesville Free
Clinic, the United Farm
Workers, or Medical Aid to
Indochina.

On May 16, 1967, Nhat Chi
Mai, a student at the Buddhist
Van-Hanh University,
immolated herself at a Saigon
Pagoda.

In "A Letter to the U.S.
Government," she had asked:

How many tons of dollars
and bombs have been dropped
on our people to destroy both
their souls and bodies?...All
this is neither freedom nor
happiness. Do you realize that
most of us Vietnamese feel in
the bottom of our hearts this
hatred towards those
Americans who have brought
the sufferings of war to our
country?

All those interested in war
tax resistance programs should
come to an organizational
meeting on Tuesday, October
17 in the Informal Lounge of
Newcomb Hall at 8 p.m.