MILITARY SPENDING Campaign to aid tax resisters targets RI BY IAN DONNIS

Critics of American military policies have long chafed at knowing how a chunk of their federal income taxes go to supporting the Pentagon. Some have taken up the cause of tax avoidance and tax resistance, risking sanctions, including prison in some cases, for conscientiously objecting to priorities they deem morally objectionable.

Because of a lack of support in Congress, amending US tax law to recognize such objections and provide an alternative payment option remains an uphill battle. Proponents of related legislation, however, have targeted Rhode Island for the only state-based advocacy campaign, because of the unique local history of religious freedom and founder Roger Williams’s belief that government power must not interfere with the free exercise of conscience. As part of this effort, folk icon Holly Near will headline a concert to benefit the Rhode Island Campaign for Conscience this Saturday, November 12, at 7:30 pm, at the First Baptist Church in America, 75 North Main St., Providence. Tickets are $18 for general admission, $10 for students and seniors, and $50 for patrons. (For more info, go to www.ri.peacetaxfund.org or call 401.521.2187.)

When it comes to the Rhode Island campaign, "The general objective is to raise awareness, and the specific objective is to gain congressional support for HR-2631, the Religious Freedom Peace Tax bill, a bill that would affirm the religious freedom of those opposed to war by giving them a legal option to be able to pay their taxes," says Natalie Baker-Merrill, director of Rhode Island Campaign for Conscience.

The National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit, has promoted related legislation for decades, to little avail. Although it’s hard to attract political backing for the measure beyond the current 38 House cosponsors, Baker-Merrill says, "We try to make it really clear that endorsement of this initiative does not imply opposition to the military. Many of supporters are military or ex-military." Since religious freedom is one our foremost liberties, she adds, "it should be as respected in our tax system as in our Constitution. That’s really what this bill is about."

The concept of an alternative tax payment method for conscientious objectors has already found some backing in Rhode Island, where the Providence City Council last month became the only such body to unanimously support it, Baker-Merrill says. The Rhode Island Campaign for Conscience plans to invite the state’s congressional representatives to a State House gathering in December as another way of building public support for the related legislation.

Even among some critics of military spending, however, the measure is seen as ineffective.

"I’m glad it’s being brought up, but I’m not a big fan of it," says a 43-year-old Aquidneck Island resident, who asked not to be named, and who says he has deliberately avoided paying taxes for years by earning less than the minimum taxable income. Since military appropriations would not be reduced as a result of the bill, "It doesn’t withhold one penny from the Pentagon or the Department of Defense."