You may view such an article at the Web site of Voices in the Wilderness, at www.vitw.com . Here’s an excerpt:

"Hill will be redirecting the amount she would have been paying in taxes to into various not-for-profi t social service and environmental organizations. ‘Thousands of others before me have taken this stand,’ she says. ‘ I have thought through this very carefully, and with a clear mind and heart I am humanely redirecting my tax payments to where they belong, because our current federal government refuses to do so.’"

A brief summary of the Tax Resistance ethic of Voices in the Wilderness reads, "Voices in the Wilderness, as a campaign, refuses to pay taxes for war and directs efforts and fi nances to offer alternatives to violence. Many individuals connected with VitW are personally resisting part or all of their federal income tax, as almost half is directed towards the US military. The war machine continues at an incredible pace. We believe war tax resistance is a critical way to slow it down."

Tax Resistance is in this case a contemporary version of burning one’s Draft Card.

II. Now, let’s take a look at a different venue of Tax Resistance. Consider the case of Vernice Kuglin, who recently challenged the fundamental legal basis for IRS collection activities, and who won her case in court (this article paraphrased from a Commercial Appeal report, dated August 9, 2003, as published at http://www.givemeliberty.org/RTPLawsuit/Update08-09-03.htm:

"On Friday, a Memphis federal jury acquitted FedEx pilot Vernice Kuglin of six counts of felony Tax Evasion and Willful Failure to File tax returns. During her testimony Kuglin testifi ed that since 1995, she had sent numerous letters to the IRS requesting that they inform her of what law required her to pay the Individual Income Tax. To this day, she has not received an answer.

"Kuglin, a pilot for FedEx since 1985, said she had paid taxes like anyone else for most of her life. But about 10 or 11 years ago, she began to question the federal tax system. She began to read court documents, legal opinions and the federal tax code. "She said she found what she felt were contradictions. She wanted to know where in the federal tax code it said she was liable for taxes. "After the jury had been excused the U.S. Attorney reportedly demanded that the Judge order the defendant to file her forms, pay her taxes and obey the law. The Judge reportedly replied ‘Sir, I don’t work for the IRS.’"

After the verdict Friday, Becraft said the ‘federal tax code is a confusing conglomeration that - at best is a walking due process violation.’ "When asked if she planned to start paying federal income taxes again, Kuglin replied: ‘I will pay all the taxes for which I am liable.’"

In other words, some persons have successfully challenged the reigning general perception that there is a fundamental legal basis for the collection of Federal Income Tax. A good number of such court cases have demonstrated that the IRS’s activities are not only questionable but also very possibly simply illegal.

III. Let us suppose that there is no existing legal basis for the collection of Federal Income Tax (FIT) from Everyday Grease Spots such as yourself. Suppose furthermore that the current management of FIT revenues is seriously morally questionable and tantamount to racketeering.Well, let’s put this out there: You — the Reader — may be under no real legal obligation to pay FIT. If you are willing to take certain steps, you could effectively prove in a court of law that you don’t have any obligation to pay FIT.

Or, you could choose to funnel your "income tax" revenues into contributions to charitable organizations that perform worthwhile tasks largely ignored by our bellicose Federal government. (Check out the graphic breakdown of how your FIT contribution is spent.)

IV. Another option for Tax Resisters may be the disavowal of Federal Citizenship (cue the music, here). There are two overarching levels of government, and citizenship, in this collective nation: State; and Federal. Hence the national title, "United States of America" and not "State of America." To be a State Citizen is not necessarily to be a Federal Citizen. In other words, to be a U.S. Citizen does not have to mean that you are a Federal Citizen; rather, it may only mean that you are a Citizen of a State that claims membership in a collective of States. This division between State and Federal Citizenship is very real, and some outright signatories of the division include, for example, laws applicable only within the borders of a State, versus laws enforceable across the whole of the land. Many of the cases considered by the U.S. Supreme Court involve the question of the enforce-ability of Federal laws within the borders of this State or that.

Have you ever seen a list of States that includes the District of Columbia? No, you have not, since the District of Columbia is Federal ground, just as all centers of Federal operation are Federal, versus State, property. Everything Federal is its own thing.

Believe it or not, there is no profound legal obligation upon you to claim Federal Citizenship. It is not an a priori requirement for anyone who chooses to live in one of the States in this nation. You do not have to use a U.S. Postal Service Zip Code to identify the location of your legal residence. You do not have to identify yourself using a Social Security number. You probably do not inhabit Federal property. You can choose to function in society while not partaking of Federally-funded social programs.

V. Opinion Of The Author (or "OOTA"):

I do not recommend a reckless charge into non-payment of Federal Income Tax. Most "good citizens" are willing to contribute a portion of their respective incomes to local and national governments, in exchange for very necessary public services, in much the same way that most "good citizens" will wear their seat belts, and not murder their ex-lovers and/or ex-bosses. I recommend charitable tax write-offs, if anything.

You may, of course, consult a specialist who can prepare formal legal challenges to IRS revenue collection. Be warned, though: an extreme, general revolt against paying income tax may have no happy terminal points, except perhaps during the short period of time between the current idiocy of the tax laws, and future legal rulings which will likely justify all tax-collection activities dating back to the inception of the FIT code. Those who here and there achieve a tax-free life will ultimately have to pay more severely, once the Federal and other governments tidy up the gaping holes in the IRS’s offensively illegitimate underbelly. And meanwhile, don’t expect any main-stream political support for your cause, since it’s highly doubtful that any sane and/or ambitious political figure would counsel The People not to pay their income taxes.

— Even if Aspen Rains were a lawyer, he’d still be a blonde.

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