Tax resistance is the refusal to pay tax because of opposition to the government that is imposing the tax or to government policy or as opposition to the concept of taxation in itself. Tax resistance is a form of direct action and if in violation of the tax regulations, a form of civil disobedience. Examples of tax resistance campaigns include those advocating home rule, such as the Salt March led by Mohandas Gandhi, and those promoting women's suffrage, such as the Women's Tax Resistance League.
War tax resistance is the refusal to pay some or all taxes that pay for war and a form of nonviolent resistance. War tax resistance may be practiced by conscientious objectors, pacifists, or those protesting against a particular war. As a percentage of income tax funds military expenditure, war tax resisters may avoid or refuse to pay some or all income tax. For example, war resisters may choose to avoid taxes by living simply below the income tax threshold.
Tax resisters are distinct from tax protesters who deny that the legal obligation to pay taxes exists or applies. Tax resisters may accept that some law commands them to pay taxes but they still choose to resist taxation.
Read more about Tax Resistance: History, Views and Aims, Methods
Famous quotes containing the words tax and/or resistance:
“Rumble thy bellyful! Spit, fire! Spout, rain!
Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire are my daughters.
I tax you not, you elements, with unkindness;
I never gave you kingdom, called you children.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“It is not the first duty of the novelist to provide blueprints for insurrection, or uplifting tales of successful resistance for the benefit of the opposition. The naming of what is there is what is important.”
—Ian McEwan (b. 1938)