Did you consider not paying federal taxes?
I did, which kind of surprised me
Never not once have I whined about paying taxes, mostly because I can read, and I know that while my taxes sometimes go for things I don’t support, they also pave roads, feed hungry children (or they used to) keep schools well-supplied (looking at you, Linda McMahon, you well-dressed worthless piece), pay police officers and firefighters, and keep us stitched together.
But this year? This year?
When the thought first bubbled up, I was thinking small. I have a regular job but I’m also a freelance writer, which means I pay quarterly taxes, Jan. 15, April 15, June 15 (I do not know why that window is so short) and Sept. 15. I keep track of what’s coming in (it isn’t much) and then I email Mike or Steve a few weeks before the due date, and they tell me how much to send to the state, and to the federal governments.
This year, as April 15 loomed, I seriously considered not paying my quarterly taxes to Washington, because there hasn’t been much I support coming out of this administration — the racism, the hate, the war-mongering, the federally-sponsored kidnapping, the attempts at erasing people. I mean, what in there do I want to throw money to?
None of it.
But I paid. I sent a check earlier this month, with a note about my disgust for every last one of the decision-makers who will misuse what used to be my money. I cannot imagine any one will actually read the note, and I can’t say that writing it made me feel any better. I’m still a little mad that I did what I have always been taught is the right thing over this, but June’s coming.
The notion of withholding financial support for this lawless administration is not new and it’s not original with me. I’ve always considered people who withhold taxes to be not that bright, like the mountain-bound survivalists who cook with their own bath water. I’m reconsidering that.
Here’s the IRS’s take on it. These days, I’m having a hard time giving much attention to any website that ends with .gov.
Yes. It’s like writing a check to your mugger but with better branding. As a business owner, you’ve fought tooth and nail to build something real that employs, serves, and sustains people. And then every quarter, you’re expected to fork over a chunk of that hard-won income so the federal government can funnel it into war machines, border prisons, and billionaire tax breaks wrapped in a flag.
That check? It’s not just money. It’s trust. And they’re burning it for sport.
And still we pay—because we’re law-abiding, believe in roads and teachers and the promise of a functioning society. But let’s not lie to ourselves anymore. It hurts because we’re being exploited, and we know it.
For the first time in my life I don’t want to pay. I did, BUT, I do not like how my tax money is currently being used!