Friday, September 22, 2006

An Open Letter to the IRS-#2:

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is in response to the Request for Payment in the amount of $4,577.86, including penalties and late fees calculated by the IRS, due September 25, 2006.

I explained in the enclosed letter, dated April 14, 2006, my reasons for not paying the amount of taxes calculated, from the IRS’ tax table. Those reasons still stand. In addition, another reason has presented itself for not paying the taxes: I become an accessory after the fact, and before the fact, for that matter, to War Crimes. I believe, and am not alone in this belief, that the United States of America and its current governing bodies, including the President and Congress, are committing War Crimes. Regardless of what the President, the Vice-President, Attorney General and countless members of Congress and media personnel say, the torture, maiming and killing of innocent, non-combatant human beings is a crime, subject to International and Domestic legal accountability. I will not willingly and easily participate in that crime. I won’t go into all the many instances of these criminal acts as others with much more evidence have done so, and are doing so daily. There are a few I choose to enumerate, so there is more here than a blanket accusation lacking substance. Since I don’t know you, I can only trust that this is not being tossed off as the ravings of a mad man. If you have even average intelligence and an enough objectivity to consider these words separate from your personal beliefs about your employer, you will understand what I am saying. You may not agree because you have your job to do, and think you are not in a position to make a difference, but I tell you that if enough people take the time and effort to consider the greater good for all of humanity, their collaboration in the pursuit of peace is not in vain.

As I follow the conflict in Iraq, I am sickened by the death and destruction being perpetrated in the name of Liberty and Democracy. The President claims we are winning the War on Terror, though he cannot identify the outcome he desires in specific terms and has not personal experience in the military (he avoided his legal responsibility in the Texas Air National Guard).

The Vice-President, whom I consider one of the most dishonest men in the administration, continues to support the lie that Saddam Hussein was complicit in the 9/11 attacks. There is actually development of more nuclear weapons by the United States, while at the same time they are accusing Iran of developing their own nuclear weapons program. What hypocrisy! And my tax dollars are to be spent on such programs in the name of Peace and the end of conflict? In the United States of America, there are people going hungry every day, healthcare is not available to millions of citizens and residents and schools are failing to meet the minimum standards set forth by law. People in this country are suffering needlessly while billions of tax dollars are being poured into Weapons of Mass Destruction produced and delivered by this nation so the Haliburtons and Bechtels and General Electrics can make unconscionable profits, while misappropriating a large percentage of those funds without accountability. You may sit there reading this letter and have no feelings about what I am saying, but rest assured, but I hope you cannot rest, in time all this will change and the death and destruction being rained upon millions of people around the world will come back to haunt you.

This attempt at taking a stand for Peace may seem insignificant and a waste of time at the risk of great discomfort to myself, but I know that I represent hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. and millions around the world, who have had enough of the violence and hatred that this country is becoming to represent. You, as the IRS, and your out-sourced collectors, are entering an area of such unknown danger, you cannot even imagine how it will change your lives. Please, do not take this as a physical threat as it is not my intention or desire to cause any further harm to anyone. The mere act of going after money that will be used in large part to perpetuate war, violence and the destruction of whole societies will not be met with open arms and flowers. It is my hope that what will occur is such a massive non-violent resistance, that your jobs will become obsolete and you will become completely impotent in your daily efforts to collect war funds. The billions and billions of dollars in taxes that are not being paid by the most wealthy, who receive the most benefit from government services, could more than offset what is needed to bring this country back to respect and wholeness. We are all One, and as long as we treat each other as separate, there will not be peace. We are a Global Community, interdependent and responsible for each other’s welfare. There are not fences tall enough, nor bombs powerful enough nor armies large enough to prevent the inevitable coming together of all peoples into one community of co-operation. By not paying these taxes, I trust a message is being delivered that it is not necessary to fund war, and one can withhold those funds until a peaceful alternative is presented.

In Peace,

John E. Phillips RScP