TO: Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 931000, Louisville, KY 40293-1000
Copies to : Rep. Greg Pence, Senator Todd Young, Senator Mike Braun, President Joe Biden
To my government representatives,
My 2022 tax return says that I owe $1,859 in taxes. I am once again writing to explain why I will not pay the amount I owe to the federal government. A Bible verse stood out for me recently: “We must obey God rather than any human authority.” (Acts 5:29, NRSV) Currently the majority of every tax dollar goes to pay for past, present, and future wars. I can not pay for war. As much as I value our country’s laws, I believe that God’s laws must come first, and God tells us, “Thou shalt not kill.”
Our country is the leading producer of firearms in the world, and much of that is through military contracts. The USA ranks number one in arms exports and number one in weapons trafficking. Although the Arms Trade Treaty became international law in 2014, our country still hasn’t ratified it. Irresponsible arms trading does not only affect those living in areas of armed conflict; the vast majority of people impacted by gun violence are not living in conflict zones. Globally, more than 500 people die every day because of violence committed by firearms. In addition to sending weapons to many countries, tax dollars pay for the increased use of military weapons in the USA through the State Homeland Security Program, the Urban Areas Security Initiative, and the 1033 program of the National Defense Authorization Act. We have militarized police departments to treat our communities as war zones, particularly targeting African-Americans and other minorities and countering nonviolent demonstrations. Police are being trained as occupying forces in our cities and towns. The number of civilians killed by police keeps increasing, and black people are three times more likely to be killed than white people.
My government is asking me to both support war in other countries and also pay to kill people in my own country, particularly people whose skin is darker than mine. In the USA it is illegal to pay for the murder of another person, yet our government is asking me to do just that. Whether in other lands or in the USA, our government’s saying that war and killing is right does not make it so.
It pains me not to pay all of the federal taxes I owe each year. I want to fulfill my financial responsibilities to the country I live in without denying my conscience and faith. Unfortunately current tax dollars help destroy some communities rather than meet human needs. Given a choice of paying to kill or dealing with financial penalties and the threat of prison, I have to choose your penalties. I won’t pay for war.
This year I will donate $1,000.00 to March for Our Lives, organizing against gun violence in our country, and $859.00 to The Color of Change, a racial justice organization organizing people for effective societal change. These non-profit groups work to prevent violence rather than feed it. 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 to make it possible for USA citizens to follow our faith and conscience without breaking the law. Many faiths urge us to treat others as we would treat ourselves. I urge you to think deeply about how we can change our country’s direction in order to live out the “Golden Rule.”
Sincerely,
Susan Lee Barton
