Monday July 10
By Mary Loehr
On Monday, July 10, NWTRCC and the War Resisters League, as part of the Fellowship of Reconciliation's People's Campaign For Nonviolence, conducted a three-part event in Washington, DC We began with a penny poll near the Washington Monument. We gave passers-by ten pennies to distribute among various categories, such as education, the environment, health care, housing, and the military. The results showed that citizens would spend far, far less on the military and much more on human needs than does the US Congress.
We then walked to the IRS headquarters building. It was gratifying that a number of participants from other countries, in DC for the Eighth International Conference of War Tax Resistance and Peace Tax Campaigns, joined us in the walk and at the IRS. When we arrived, three people went into the building to deliver the results of the penny poll. They made it only past the first set of double doors. After negotiating with police, the best they could do was give the results to the police to pass on to the IRS.
Next, seven folks from around the US who had decided to turn themselves in to the IRS for their non-payment of federal taxes, attempted to do so. They each made a brief statement to the camera videotaping the whole event, then started up the stairs. They were stopped before even getting to the first door. They sent in a letter, via a police officer. The IRS itself simply would not see them, either inside or outside. For a thoughtful analysis of this action, written by Robert Randall, who was at the Conference, and who was one of the folks who tried to ‘turn himself in,’ contact the NWTRCC office.