We say we want to end the war in Iraq, the “war on terror”, and the US empire.

What have we done so far?

We have expressed our objection to current US policies and war crimes
in Iraq and elsewhere, advocating secession, writing letters, lobbying
our congressmen, voting for anti-war candidates, even protesting in the
streets. What impact does this have on our government?
Consider the following: In 1982, Reagan’s Secretary of State
Alexander Haig made a telling statement. Hundreds of thousands of
people had marched in New York City, protesting the administration's
Latin American foreign policies. When asked what he thought about the
huge protest, Haig stated, "Let them protest all they want, as long as
they pay their taxes."

This is even more true today. They don’t need our consent any
more, all they need is our money. They have outsourced the
empire! Consider Blackwater, DynCorp International, and Triple Canopy,
the three major “security” contractors in Iraq, and all the military
contractors like Halliburton, KBR, Aegis, etc. There is no need for a
draft. More and more functions of the military are being
outsourced. Less and less consent is needed from the electorate.
That assumes that consent of the governed even matters any more.

What are we going to do until Vermont secedes from the US? It
could be awhile. Until then Kirkpatrick Sale tells us “The
American empire, which began its worldwide reach well before Bush II,
now has some 446,000 active troops at more than 725 acknowledged (and
any number secret) bases in at least 38 countries around the world,
plus a formal "military presence" in no less than 153 countries, on
every continent but Antarctica—and nearly a dozen fully armed courier
fleets on all the oceans”. According to the War Resistor’s League, 51%
of the federal budget or $1.228 trillion is budgeted for the military
in 2008. (Click here for chart.)

Do you support this? If you pay federal taxes you do. There is no way around it.

What about the theory that deficits don’t matter, that the
administration can live endlessly on debt and doesn’t even need taxes
to operate? Even if true it still depends on a bond rating based
on the coercive power of the federal government to tax and pay interest
on the debt, even if they have no intention of ever paying the
principal. If we ever do have to pay off the debt, as of February
8, 2008 it’s up $30,376.55 per person in the US. Can you afford it? The dollar is also dropping like rock.

The moral necessity of defunding the US Empire is as follows: The
Empire is engaged in wars of aggression, the endless war on “terror”,
violation of human rights and civil liberties, illegal rendition of
terror suspects to foreign countries for torture and interrogation,
denial of habeas corpus, denial of the Geneva Convention, torture,
wiretapping US citizens, and use of depleted uranium weapons, an
indiscriminate weapon of mass destruction. Need I go on?
People said it couldn’t happen here, but now we are the “good Germans”,
dutifully doing what the IRS tells us to do, while the government
commits war crimes in our name with our money.

The government is not accountable to any of us; they take their orders
from the corporate and financial masters who pay for their
campaigns. Elections are no longer fair and honest (If they ever
were). I don’t have to catalogue all the reasons for wanting Vermont to
secede from a corrupt, unaccountable government. What allows them
to operate is our tax money. Will the Democratic Congress defund
the war in Iraq, stop the attack on Iran, or other Empire building
exercises? It doesn’t look like it, does it. This is not
surprising. When the Democratic Leadership Conference (DLC) under
President Bill Clinton in the 1990s decided to go after corporate
money, so they could play ball with the big boy Republicans, they gave
up all pretense of representing “the people”.

After petitioning for redress, voting for the opposition, writing
letters, marching in the street, and even getting arrested protesting
has no impact, what’s left to do? There is only one thing left
and that is to defund the empire.

Until we withdraw our tax money we are still supporting the US
Empire. How can we say we are for secession and continue to pay
taxes to the federal government? Perhaps we should take Grover Norquist
at his word by “starving the beast”, and “shrink the federal
government down to the size where it can be drowned in a
bathtub.”

Tax revolts are an honored US tradition going back to the Boston Tea Party.

Were the colonists braver than we are?

Why is it that we are so afraid to do this?

Most
people, even secessionists, haven’t stopped paying their federal
taxes. Is it IRS intimidation? Are we afraid of jail? Perhaps we
have too much to lose. Maybe some sacrifice is going to be
necessary. You don’t get soup until you stir the pot, and
otherwise the scum rises to the top.

The IRS uses threats and intimidation, but jail is not a likely
scenario. In looking over info on war tax resistance I found that
seizure of assets is far more likely. Only a handful of tax
resistors have done jail time since WWII, and those for related
charges, only one for tax evasion. There are often months or
years to respond to a threat of asset seizure, and many ways to handle
it.

Statistics indicate that the IRS is much more successful collecting from those who choose to
file than from those who choose not to, collecting in FY 2004 about 42%
of outstanding funds from the former, and about 16% of assessed
outstanding funds from the latter.

The IRS goes after
financial assets first, and only rarely tries to seize property.
There is also a 10 year statute of limitation after which they cannot
collect any back taxes or fees.

It is incumbent on those of us who support Vermont Secession to live by
our values and withdraw support from the US government. Let’s
call it S.E.C.E.D.E.

SOCIETY of
ETHICAL
CITIZENS
EXPEDITIOUSLY
DEFUNDING
EMPIRE

To join S.E.C.E.D.E. take the following pledge: “I withdraw my mental,
physical, emotional, and spiritual energy from the corrupt US
government. I will not give them any financial support, nor will
I willingly accept any tax-funded benefits from the US government. I
will put my financial resources to better use such as Vermont
secession. I will starve the beast.”

Find the handy W4 "Employees Withholding Allowance Certificate"
form for you to use. Cut it out and fill in box 1, 2, and
8. Leave box 3,4,5, and 6 blank. In Box 7, fill out the word “EXEMPT”. Sign and date the form, and give it
to your employer. This will force your employer to stop
withholding money from your check. The employer has no right to
change it, unless there is a court order from the IRS.

NOTE: If you are not actually eligible to claim exemption and have
income above the taxable level, this may subject you to IRS legal
action. This is an act of civil disobedience for which there may
be consequences. Note that in my case, my W-4 forms were never
questioned or mentioned, they only wanted the back taxes, and it took
them 8 years to levy my paycheck.

We are setting up a Second Vermont Republic escrow/endowment account
for this purpose. The money will be invested and interest used to
fund Vermont Secession. Donations and loans will be accepted in
addition to redirected federal taxes. If a depositor needs the
money back it will be available. Only interest will be spent, not
capital.

This fund is modeled after the Conscience and Military Tax Campaign Excrow Account.

Thank you for joining us.

We can promise you will feel liberated.

Read more about this campaign at the War Tax Boycott web site.