Re-emergence of an American Tradition: Tax Protesting

By Marc Guttman Published on 4/10/2009 in The Day

 

Historically, thousands of brave citizens have refused to pay taxes so as not to support what they believe are immoral actions by our government. Tax resistance has again increased in popularity over the last decade with many protesting the American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Peace activist heroes throughout history have participated in this type of civil disobedience. Henry David Thoreau was imprisoned for refusing to pay taxes as a protest against the American war on Mexico and slavery. He is famous for assailing, "Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is in prison."

Mohandas Gandhi's nonviolent protests included resistance to the British Salt Tax. He publicly boiled a pan of seawater, illegally producing salt. His action encouraged Indians to disobey the British authority and produce their own salt, rather than purchase salt, of which the British had a monopoly, and pay the excessive taxes. Tens-of-thousands of Indians were incarcerated. Britain's control of the colony weakened as their injustices were made more visible.

Gandhi was following in the tradition of American revolutionaries like John Hancock, a successful merchant, big-time smuggler and tax protestor, and flamboyant signer of the Declaration of Independence. America was founded by tax resisters.

In the late 18^th century, Britain was impoverished from a long war with France. After previous failed attempts at taxing the North American colonists, Britain placed duties on several imports to the colonies. In protest, colonists boycotted British goods, and Boston merchants dumped valuable tea from merchant ships into the harbor. While peacefully protesting unjust taxes is moral, this act was a destruction of private property and was unfair to the tea owners. Britain reacted by closing Boston Harbor and enacting more oppressive measures against the colonists. The colonists would eventually declare their freedom and independence.

The new federal government supposedly was restricted from acting in the special interest of anyone, engaging in offensive wars, and taxing non-uniformly or directly taxing it's citizens. We now see that the Constitution was not sufficient in binding the new government as the framers had intended, as it would not take long for its members to impose the same oppressions as those of the thrown-off British Crown and Parliament.

But, governments derive their power “from the consent of the governed,” and people's opinions can change quickly. As in the 1930s, when thousands of taxpayers’ leagues formed and engaged in tax strikes to protest high taxes, which were amongst the many harmful policies that lengthened and deepened the Depression, recently modern-day "Tea Parties" have been occurring across the nation. A few hundred people demonstrated in Ridgefield and Stamford last month. Tax Day Tea Parties are scheduled in over 300 American cities this April 15th, including Hartford, New Haven, and Norwich.

While the participants are surely a coalition of many different opinions, many are citizens who largely reject the major political parties, despite the efforts of national political figures to coopt the movement. Many demonstrators are interested in expressing their disapproval of decades of federal government fiscal irresponsibility and unfair, intrusive policies that have impoverished us; such as foreign military interventions, corporate bailouts and the socializing of private business losses, other industry and special interest subsidies, excessive and unfair spending, gross monetary expansions causing the insidious inflation tax, deficit spending that will leave a crushing debt to future generations, and the escalation of the same borrowing, printing, spending, taxing, and regulating policies that have produced perverse incentives and have caused our suffering.

Some dismiss as selfish anyone who considers tax rates too high or who disapproves of certain government spending. Statists - people who believe in government taking on a large role in our lives - see high taxes as something that responsible and fair-minded citizens should pay happily.

The truth is many people are forced to contribute their efforts towards things they do not value nor support. These include offensive wars, personal freedom infringements, and government programs that make us less prosperous and, therefore, less able to educate our children, to provide for our health care and safety, to nourish ourselves with healthy foods, to protect our environment, and to engage in the activities in which we delight.

For certain these Tea Party demonstrators are in good historical company. It seems right to join them.

Dr. Marc Guttman is an emergency physician and vice chairman of the Libertarian Party of Connecticut. He lives in East Lyme.

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