| IRS
Seizure and Court Actions
Against War Tax Resisters |
| In
the modern war tax resistance movement (since World War II), very few
people have been brought into Federal court, convicted, or jailed because
of their war tax resistance. In fact, only two war tax resisters — James
Otsuka in 1949 and J. Tony Serra in 2005 —
were ever charged with not paying taxes. Most resisters have been hauled into
court either for not cooperating with the government (by refusing to produce
records) or (in the early 1970s) because they “fraudulently” altered
their W-4 form. |
IRS
Court Actions Against War Tax Resisters
(as
of June 2010) |
| year | name | location |
show
cause* | sentence |
prison
time | charge | notes |
| 1942 | Ernest
Bromley | Bath,
NC | |
2 mo |
2 mo | tax
evasion | refusal
to pay $2.09 defense tax stamp for car | | 1949 | James
Otsuka | Richmond,
IN | |
4 mo |
5 mo | tax
refusal and contempt | nonpayment
of 29% ($4.50) of income tax | | 1958 | Maurice
McCrackin | Cincinnati,
OH | |
6 mo |
— | refused
summons to produce records | noncooperated
with court proceedings; overturned | | 1959 | Juanita
Nelson | Philadelphia,
PA | |
— |
1 day | refused
summons to produce records | charges
eventually dropped | | 1960 | Eroseanna
Robinson | Chicago,
IL | |
12 mo |
3 mo | refused
summons to produce records; contempt | noncooperated
with court; jailed in Alderson, WV | | 1963 | Arthur
Evans | Denver,
CO | ? |
3 mo |
3 mo | contempt
for not turning over records | Jefferson
County Jail | | 1968 | Neil
Haworth | New
London, CT | x |
2 mo |
2 mo | contempt
for refusing to produce records | Middlesex
State Jail | | 1970 | Jim
Shea | Vienna,
VA | |
12 mo |
9.5 mo | false/fraudulent
W-4 and bail-jumping | after
1970 conviction, jumped bail, then surrendered in 1974 |
| 1970 | Sally
Buckley | St.
Paul, MN | |
1 mo |
— |
false/fraudulent
W-4 | her
tax anonymously paid | | 1970 | Jack
Malinowski | Philadelphia,
PA | |
| — | false/fraudulent
W-4 | sentenced
to 3 mo probation | | 1971 | Karl
Meyer | Chicago,
IL | |
24 mo |
9 mo | false/fraudulent
W-4 | Sandstone,
MN | | 1971 | Bill
Himmelbauer | Chicago,
IL | |
12 mo |
6 mo | false/fraudulent
W-4 | Sandstone,
MN | | 1971 | Mike
Fowler | Chicago,
IL | |
1 mo |
1 mo | false/fraudulent
W-4 | sentenced
by Julius Hoffman | | 1971 | Ellis
Rece | Augusta,
GA | |
1.5 mo |
1.5 mo | false/fraudulent
W-4 | plus
$5000 fine | | 1971 | Henry
Braun | Philadelphia,
PA | |
| — | false/fraudulent
W-4 | sentenced
to 3 mo probation and $500 fine | | 1971 | James
Smith | Springfield,
MO | |
| — | false/fraudulent
W-4 | sentenced
to $50 fine | | 1972 | Carole
Nelson | Minneapolis,
MN | ? |
10 days |
10 days | refusing
to produce records | |
| 1972 | Lyle
Snider | Greensboro,
NC | |
9 mo |
— | false/fraudulent
W-4 | claimed
3 billion dependents; reversed on appeal | | 1972 | John
Leininger | Rochester,
NY | |
2 mo |
2 mo | false/fraudulent
W-4 | noncooperated
with court | | 1972 | Mark
Riley | Sacramento,
CA | |
6 mo |
5 mo | false/fraudulent
W-4 | prison
plus $500 fine | | 197? | Dennis
Richter | Minneapolis,
MN | |
? |
? | false/fraudulent
W-4 | | | 197? | Donald
Callahan | Philadelphia,
PA | |
? |
? | false/fraudulent
W-4 | | | 197? | Ron
Mitchell | Madison,
WI | |
? |
? | false/fraudulent
W-4 | | | 197? | Roy
Schenk | Madison,
WI | |
? |
? | false/fraudulent
W-4 | | | 1973 | Martha
Tranquilli | Clarkdale,
MS | |
9 mo |
7.5 mo | tax
fraud (Form 1040 dependents) | claimed
6 peace organizations as dependents |
| 1974 |
J. Tony
Serra |
San Francisco,
CA |
|
4
mo |
4
mo |
failure
to file a return |
SF attorney
defends self & is acquited on 2 of 3 charges |
| 1975 | Robin
Harper | Wallingford,
PA | x |
— |
— | order
to show cause | won
with Fifth Amendment | | 1975 | Margaret
Haworth | New
York, NY | x |
— |
— | order
to show cause | won
Fifth Amendment | | 1978 | Richard
Catlett | Kansas
City, MO | |
2 mo |
2 mo | failure
to file a return | plus
3 years probation; Kansas City jail | | 1978 | Bob
Anthony | PA |
x |
| — | order
to show cause | First
& Fifth Amends.; judge sat on case until 1982 then ruled against Anthony |
| 1979 | Bruce
Chrisman | Carbondale,
IL | |
| — | failure
to file a return | sentenced
to a year voluntary service & 3 yrs probation |
| 1980 | Paul
Monsky | Cambridge,
MA | |
| — | false/fraudulent
W-4 | sentenced
to a year probation | | 1981 | Kenneth
Pichler | Eau
Claire, WI | x |
| 19
days | order
to show cause | contempt;
jailed & released after 19 days when agreed to turn over records |
| 1982 | Kathryn
Kohrman | VT |
x |
? |
— | order
to show cause; contempt | cited
Nuremburg | | 1983 | Leo
Volpe | Mays
Landing, NJ | |
4 mo |
4 mo | failure
to file | Restored
Israel of Yahweh, small Bible-study community in NJ that preaches pacifism |
| 1985 | Larry
Bassett | Patchogue,
NY | x |
— |
— | order
to show cause | won
with Fifth Amendment |
| 1986 |
J. Tony
Serra |
San Francisco,
CA |
|
1yr. |
— |
"willfully
filing late"; suspended sentence, 5 years probation |
1 year
suspended, 5 years probation |
| 1987 | Dale
Macurdy | Somerville,
MA | x |
— |
— | order
to show cause | cited
Fifth Amendment; IRS withdrew Order | | 1989 | Max
Rice | Comer,
GA | x |
2 mo |
40 days | order
to show cause; contempt for not turning over records | used
First Amendment | | 1989 | Don
Mosley | Comer,
GA | x |
2 mo |
40 days | order
to show cause; contempt for not turning over records | used
First Amendment | | 1989 | Bobby
Hieger | New
York, NY | x |
— |
— | order
to show cause | Fifth
Amendment; IRS withdrew Order | | 1990 | Allen
Moss | Baltimore,
MD | x |
— |
— | order
to show cause | won
with Fifth Amendment | | 1991 | Randy
Kehler | Colrain,
MA | x |
6 mo |
2.5 mo | civil
contempt | Nuremburg;
contempt for refusing not to return to his and Betsy Corner's seized house |
| 1993 | Bill
Ramsey | St.
Louis, MO | |
1 mo |
1 mo | violating
probation | paying
taxes was condition probation after conviction of leafletting at IRS without permit |
| 1997 | Jan
Passion | VT |
x |
— |
— | order
to show cause | IRS
withdrew Order after determining case uncollectible |
| 1999 | Ed
Hedemann | Brooklyn,
NY | x |
— |
— | order
to show cause | Fifth
Amendment | | 2005 | Inge
Donato | Mays
Landing, NJ | |
6 mo |
6 mo | failing
to withhold and pay over employment tax for employees | Restored
Israel of Yahweh, small Bible-study community in NJ that preaches pacifism |
| 2005 |
J. Tony
Serra |
San Francisco,
CA |
|
10
mo. |
9
mo |
willful
failure to pay $44,000 in Federal taxes for 1998 & 1999 |
released Mar. 2007, plus one month in a halfway house |
| 2006 | Kevin
McKee | Mays
Landing, NJ | |
24 mo |
22 mo | attempted
evasion of employment taxes and failure to file | Restored
Israel of Yahweh, small Bible-study community in NJ that preaches pacifism |
| 2006 |
Joe
Donato |
Mays
Landing, NJ |
|
27 mo
|
22 mo
|
attempted
evasion of employment taxes and failure to file |
Restored
Israel of Yahweh, small Bible-study community in NJ that preaches pacifism |
| 2010 |
Frank Donnelly |
Lamoine, ME | |
12 mo
|
to begin
July 2010
|
tax fraud, falsifing and lying on his returns |
Underreported his income tax years 2002-2004 to avoid paying for war; ordered to pay $3,000 fine & $90,000 in back taxes
|
| | | | | | | |
| *
“Order to Show Cause” — If unsuccessful in finding sufficient
assets of a resister, the IRS’s last resort is to convince a U.S. Attorney
to issue an Order to Show Cause. This Order asks a U.S. District Court judge why
a refuser should not be held in contempt for not giving the IRS the financial
information it seeks. The Order often requires the resister to make a written
response and appear in court. If the judge does not dismiss the Order and the
resister does not provide the required financial information, the resister could
be held in civil contempt of court and jailed. All
of these resisters argued their opposition to paying for war and the military
based on moral, religious, or political grounds, or on international law; in addition
some pled the Fifth or First Amendment. |
SOURCES:
Handbook on the Nonpayment of War Taxes, Peacemakers, 1983; The Peacemaker,
Peacemakers; Tax Talk,
National War Tax Resistance; Network News
(1984 to 1993), NWTRCC; More Than a Paycheck (1994 to present), NWTRCC
Car
and House Seizures
(since 1982)
We are in the process of researching earlier years. Following the 1980s there
was a drop off of IRS seizures. | what
seized | notes |
| 1982 | Larry
& Lisa Keunning | Oreland,
PA | car | first
car seizure of a war tax resister since VN War |
| 1984 | Robert
& Linda Randall | Woodstock,
GA | house | bought
back for bid amount from "winning" bidder |
| 1984 | Robert
& Linda Randall | Woodstock,
GA | pickup
truck | returned
by IRS after house auctioned | | 1984 | Donna
Johnson | Colorado
Springs, CO | house | notice
of seizure removed from house | | 1984 | John
& Ruth Affolter | Renton,
WA | house | auction
cancelled at last minute & money seized from bank |
| 1984 | Phyllis
Good Senesi | Kalamazoo,
MI | car | auctioned |
| 1984 | Michael
McConnell | Chicago,
IL | house | 1/6
share of communal house auction abruptly cancelled last minute |
| 1984 | Jerry
Hardt | Salyersville,
KY | farm | auctioned
to supporters | | 1985 | Craig
MacDonald | Wappingers
Falls, NY | truck | seized
then returned by IRS after bank account levy | | 1985 | Miriam
Redstone/David Dillman | Santa
Rosa, CA | car | sold
for $338 | | 1985 | Karl
Meyer | Chicago,
IL | car | station
wagon and trailer sold for $1020 | | 1985 | David
Pascale | Atlanta,
GA | house | repurchased
house from winning bidder | | 1985 | David
Dillman & Miriam Redstone | Occidental,
CA | car | auctioned |
| 1985 | John
& Pat Schweibert | Portland,
OR | house | unbeknownst
to Schweiberts, house redeemed by friend for $3300 |
| 1985? | Betsy
Wright | Northampton,
MA | car | year
of seizure and disposition uncertain | | 1987 | David
Pascale | Atlanta,
GA | house | paid
$701 minimum bid to redeem house | | 1988 | Philip
& Louise Baldwin Rieman | Grundy
Ctr, IA | car | |
| 1988 | David
Pascale | Atlanta,
GA | house | auctioned;
redeemed from winning bidder |
| 1989? |
Mary
Gleysteen |
Kingston,
WA |
barn |
IRS seized
barn but after lots of protests, took taxes from bank account instead |
| 1989 | Randy
Kehler/Betsy Corner | Colrain,
MA | house | after
18 mos. of struggle, buyers leave house at end of 1993 |
| 1989 | Bob
Bady/Pat Morse | Colrain,
MA | house | buy
never took possession; buyer eventually given money to settle claim to house |
| 1989 | David
Pascale | Lama,
NM | car | bought
by friend at auction | | 1990 | Paula
Rogge | Austin,
TX | car | sold
to used car dealer for $585 | | 1992 | Meri
Furnari | Oakland,
CA | car | redeemed
before auction | | 1994 | Pat
Washburn | Estes
Park, CO | car | IRS
nets $67 |
| 1996 | Art
Harvey/Elizabeth Gravanos | Hartford,
ME | house | house
sold to Eliz. mother and returned to them; blueberry land sold but still leased
for blueberries | | 1999? | Joan
& Chuck Wittreich | Center
Moriches, NY | house | final
IRS settlement allowed family member to buy house & continue to live there |
SOURCES: Network News (1984
to 1993), NWTRCC; More Than a Paycheck (1994 to present), NWTRCC; CMTC
Newsletter (1984-1985); The Peacemaker, 1981-1996
|