War Tax Resistance: Letter for 2016 Tax Return

18 April, 2017 U.S.A. Department of the Treasury Copies to : Rep. Dwight Evans, Senator Bob Casey, Senator Patrick J. Toomey, President Donald Trump To my government representatives, My 2016 tax return says that I owe $608 in taxes. I am writing to explain why I will not pay this amount. Currently the majority of every tax dollar goes to pay for past, present, and future wars. This is entirely contrary to my understanding of God's desires for us, and also contradicts other USA and international laws. I am a member of the Religious Society of Friends. Since the 17th century, we Friends have tried to live out our testimony of God’s desire for peace, both within ourselves and with all of God’s children. I can not pay for war, and I continue to ask you to change our country’s direction along the war path. In our country it is illegal to pay for someone else to murder. It does not matter if I do not pull the trigger. If I pay for someone else to do so, I am still guilty. I grew up with stories of the Nuremberg trials, where officials were found guilty of war crimes for ordering those crimes, and “following orders” was not considered a valid reason for committing such crimes. Human rights atrocities are against international law and, more importantly, against God's law, whether or not our federal government says otherwise. By our president's own admission, our country does not have a clean slate in terms of human rights abuses. A government saying that war is right does not make it so. For most of my life (since junior high school) I have tried to align the way I earn and spend money with my beliefs. For 29 years as I paid my taxes as required by U.S.A. law, the amount of taxes paid for war continued to increase. Meanwhile, a long list of human needs in our own country and abroad are still going unmet for millions of people. This goes directly against my deeply held religious beliefs, and my conscience will no longer allow me to participate in this mass destruction of human lives. My belief in God’s power to transform ALL of us, no exceptions, and my attempts to follow Jesus’ teachings and commandments, have led me to spend much of my life working for peace and justice. I can not say in letters and peace demonstrations that I oppose war while continuing to pay for war. So, in addition to other actions to work for peace, I am once again refusing to send you a money order for war. As much as I value human laws, I believe that God’s laws must come first, and God tells us, “Thou shalt not kill.” This year I will donate at least $608.00 to Friends Peace Teams, a group working to heal the wounds of war and prevent future wars in various parts of the world. Through Friends Peace Teams, entire communities and regions have been transformed from violent conflict to peaceful cooperation. Why is our government leaving it to non-governmental organizations to lay the groundwork for peace? I am not benefitting financially from my refusal to pay for war. Every cent I owe is being paid to save lives, not to destroy lives. I urge you, as my representatives, to think deeply about what changes need to be made to live out God’s command to love our neighbors. I also urge all of you, including the IRS, to make it possible for U.S.A. citizens to follow our faith and conscience without breaking the law. Telling me to either pay for murder or deal with financial penalties and the threat of prison is not a choice our wonderful country should force on people of faith. Given such a choice, I have to choose your penalties. I won’t pay for war. In peace, Susan Lee Barton