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IRS Raided (1970)
Category: Archives | Topic: Activism | Books about Activism | Print this page Print  Send this story to a friend E-Mail
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On January 13, as requested in a letter from the Internal Revenue Service, I appeared at their main office with a little help from (ten of) my friends.

The IRS officials were quite disturbed by the presence of our "community of Resistance". Their intended purpose of the meeting was to discuss my tax liability of $16.70 (accumulated telephone tax). Our purpose was to discuss the war in Vietnam and their complicity in murder.

Mr. Gomella, the young official who had "invited" me there went into immediate conference with several of his superiors, who in turn called the police.

We unrolled a huge poster of the My Lai massacre and I asked, "Is this what you want me to pay for?" Some of the IRS officials looked sickened and left the room. Others entered and we asked their position on the war and the killing. We told them that we knew the telephone excise tax was specifically for the war. We were all asked to leave, when Mr. Gomella offered to meet privately with me. He was promptly put down by his superiors.

As we slowly departed (we left behind a copy of the Nuremberg Principles, which they said they would read), we held the My Lai poster up high, showing it to a good many of the workers. As we passed through the official waiting area with our poster, we cried out, "You can claim these people as your dependents."

All in all we kept at least ten IRS officials occupied for about a half hour, interrupting their "business as usual" schedule.

Instead of dismissing "invitations" from IRS as most of us have done in the past, we are encouraging other people to attend such hearings with as much community support as they can gather. We're also trying to re-schedule hearings that we've passed up knowing that we'll have an official opportunity to go up and hassle at least once a week.

Source: Ken Sherman 2/70

Suggested Reading

Living on The Earth by Alicia Bay Laurel.
The early '70s was a time of great optimism (and despair in true Dickens fashion). Everywhere people were experimenting with alternative lifestyles, leaving the cities and heading back-to-nature. Communes were popping up all over and those returning to the land had to learn fast the art of survival. With impeccable timing and the feeling that a guide to this new/old way of life was needed, Alicia Bay Laurel wrote "Living on The Earth", an invaluable resource for those seeking to live in harmony with Mother Nature. Read Skip's Review!

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