Dear NWTRCC Network Groups and Individuals -

Please read through this revised proposal and review the other documents.
Your ideas and input are essential to the decision to proceed with this wider WTR campaign effort. A one-year campaign was a top priority from the strategy conference in 2005.

Other docuemnts:

DRAFT - Registration/Commitment Form

Eight Tasks We Need to Complete by September 1 – Can you help?

Help Name the Campaign!

Tax Day 2008 Campaign Proposal - REVISED DRAFT  7/6/07  

Redrafted after networking at the United for Peace and Justice gathering in Chicago in June by Bill Ramsey

Goal:  To accelerate US withdrawal from Iraq by impressing upon the government that U.S taxpayers are no longer willing to fund an illegal and immoral war.

Objective: On April 15, 2008, thousands of war opponents publicly refuse to pay a portion of their federal income taxes in order to withhold funds for the war in Iraq and redirect those funds to reconstruction in Iraq and in communities destroyed by Katrina.

Survey: The preparations for this action would be based on the results of a survey completed by over 1,500 war opponents between April 2006 and April 2007. Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed had never done war tax refusal. Over two-thirds of the individuals responding indicated that they were willing to consider a one-time act of war tax refusal.

The majority of respondents viewed war tax refusal and redirection as a potential mass tactic to oppose and end wars. The survey indicates that the willingness to take part in a one-time war tax refusal action increases with the confidence that it would be done by large numbers of people together and well publicized. The survey also provides a wealth of information about what kind of resources and information the respondents would need to carry out their commitments to a one-time action of war tax refusal.

When the results of the survey are projected over all those attending the events where the survey forms were completed, they indicate that perhaps as many as 170,000 people would be willing to consider a one-time act of war tax refusal and redirection in April of 2008. Since those who completed the surveys took the initiative to approach a war tax resistance table, it is more realistic to reduce the number of potential participants in this action by a factor of ten. This leaves 17,000 possible participants. Given that a large group of these people will either decide not to participate or not be able to participate, it is more reasonable to work toward a goal of 10,000 participants.

Collaborators: The project would be organized by the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC) and its affiliates around the country. Collaboration on selecting the project(s) to receive the resisted taxes will be provided by Voices for Creative Nonviolence and Veterans for Peace

Other organizations that have expressed interest in promoting the project through their networks and at their events are: United for Peace and Justice through its Nonviolent Direct Action Working Group, Not in Our Name, the Occupation Project, Granny Peace Brigade, Declaration of Peace, Tikkun Community, National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, War Resisters League, Syracuse Peace Council, 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. Types of promotion that have been mentioned are website links, email to memberships linking to an appeal and registration form, and tabling at events.

NWTRCC will be responsible for the design and distribution of an online and hard copy registration form. It would also provide a network of war tax resistance counselors. It will create a guide to one-time war tax refusal and possible consequences. The online version of the registration and guide will be interactive, linking to the guide, counselors, and others who were considering participation. A YouTube promotion of the campaign could be produced. A common graphic image depicting the connection between war and taxes will be used in promotional materials.

Campaign Launch: The campaign to encourage thousands people to take part in a common one-time war tax refusal and redirection commitment could be launched on September 15^th in the midst of the congressional decision on 2008 war funding. A national media event could be held on that day at a historical location (Boston Harbor, Vietnam War Memorial, U.S. Department of Treasury, Walden Pond). The event would announce the initial number of commitments gathered by local NWTRCC affiliates and encourage others to join.

Outreach: The campaign will be present at a series of antiwar events in Washington, DC, and around the country, including the Declaration of Peace’s Days of Decision actions, Occupation Project direct actions at local congressional office, Troops Out Now DC Encampment Sept. 22-29, Iraq Moratorium events around the country on September 21 and every third Friday following, and United for Peace and Justice’s October 27 nationwide mobilization against the war in 6-8 cities around the country.

Mutual Support: In January, local NWTRCC affiliates and other collaborating groups will convene sessions where on-site counseling and planning sessions could take place.

Public Presentation: In early April, the names of all those taking part in the one-time action could appear in a common full-page ad, announcing the action and asking others to join them. The ad could be carried on the websites or sent out as an email alert by all the collaborating organizations. It could be depicted in a YouTube video. Donated space could be sought in progressive journals. It could be submitted as a paid ad to a major national publication. If the ad was turned down, then the story of the refusal to publish could become the vehicle to bring more public attention to the action. If the national publication agreed to publish it, then that controversial decision would likely draw attention to the action far beyond those who would see it in that publication.

Redirections Delegations: Participants will be asked to select a project from a list of specific reconstruction projects to receive their redirected taxes. Several existing NWTRCC affiliates’ alternative funds could agree to receive the resisted taxes of all those taking part. Throughout April, delegations of one-time refusers might deliver the redirected funds in personal visits to the reconstruction projects.

Second Wave: Throughout the promotion of the project will be the concept that this action is the first of many waves. Each one-time resister will be encouraged to find at least one person to take their place in a second wave in 2009 and/or consider refusal and redirection for a second year themselves.

Evaluation: In May of 2008 a process of evaluation involving as many of the participants as possible would be convened. The second wave will be planned on the basis of the results of this evaluation.

Contacts: National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee
            Bill Ramsey, St. Louis – 314-725-7303  hras@humanrightsaction.net
            Ruth Benn, Brooklyn – 800-269-7464   nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org   

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