To the IRS, with Love

Let them march all they want, as long as they continue to pay their taxes.

— Alexander Haig

I don’t know about you but it seemed to me there was something rather poignant about Tax Day 2025. I found a lot to think about but it wasn’t a moral dilemma—the moral path seemed perfectly clear and got clearer with every bit of news still finding its way into the public sphere. I include my protest letter to the IRS below.

I’m very grateful to the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee for providing the information and support that allowed me to make an informed decision. As they themselves emphasize, no one should engage in tax resistance without being informed of the potential consequences, and they offer webinars and a host of useful resources.

At its best, activism always offers opportunities for deep contemplation. As I’ve sat with the unsettling nature of the potential consequences I’ve come to honor the love at the core of my decision. It’s the same transpersonal love that’s at the center of morality and virtually all activism. It’s the love that, when held consciously, results in the kind of courage I have so long admired in people like the Freedom Riders—people who knew perfectly well what was being risked and why.

It’s the same love and courage available to us all as we pace ourselves and brace ourselves for the work of resisting oppression and building a more beautiful world from the bottom up.

***

April 15, 2025

To the IRS,

You will find no payment included in this filing for tax year 2024.

I offer this protest in an unprecedented time when our democracy is blatantly being undermined by fascist politics and I cannot in good conscience contribute to that financially or in any other way.

Fifty percent of this protest (representing approx. 50% of the federal budget) is in opposition to war and military spending, including the genocide in the Occupied Territories, the bombing of Yemen, and escalating tensions with Iran. I also oppose continued militarization of the southern border and the Dept. of Homeland Security, and the proposed trillion dollar Pentagon budget.

The other fifty percent I’m withholding expresses my opposition to a government rooted in anti-democratic, ultra-nationalism that is inflicting widespread damage and cruelty here at home and around the world. A government that is dismantling the best of the federal government and weaponing the rest. When so much else that we’ve taken for granted is now called into question, the government’s expectation that citizens will willingly fund an authoritarianism that is not in their best interest is also called into question.

I understand the IRS has reached an agreement that would violate the privacy of non-citizens and facilitate forced removals and other violations of due process. It’s a move that further erodes trust in this government.

I am heartened to know that interest is spiking in withholding income taxes as a form of protest and I’m glad to be a part of this longstanding activist tradition.

In solidarity with life, liberty, and justice,

Scott Brown