 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2003 (XXXXI 4) |
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s long history of engagement with the Federal government around the issue of war tax resistance has entered another chapter. This July the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit against PYM. The suit has garnered significant publicity, including first section coverage in The New York Times. The government seeks to collect funds from PYM to cover the income tax bill of employee Priscilla Adams, which after several years amounts to $42,000 with taxes, interest and penalties. In addition, the government seeks a 50% penalty against PYM because PYM has refused to honor an IRS levy to garnish Priscilla’s wages for back taxes. As a matter of conscience, Priscilla has asked PYM not to forward to IRS a portion of her wage-withholding for federal taxes attributable to military purposes.
If the IRS wins a judgment, it could collect from PYM approximately $63,000 including the penalty. PYM policy established in 1988 calls for the war tax resister employee to reimburse the Yearly Meeting for what she owed IRS, but not for penalties imposed on PYM. Priscilla Adams, a member of Haddonfield Meeting (NJ), works as PYM regional staff in Haddonfield Quarter.
PYM’s policy states that, insofar as we are able, we will support any employee who is a war tax resister; and that we will not willingly violate the employee’s religious principles (or our own) by collecting from a tax resister and forwarding to the IRS taxes that could be used to pay for war. It is the responsibility of Interim Meeting (or Yearly Meeting in session) to decide how to respond to legal actions if they are brought against us, and to decide any changes in policy.
Priscilla Adams recognizes that if the government wins this suit, she will be responsible for paying the back taxes and interest, so PYM will not have to bear those costs. However, Priscilla may not have the total amount of money available to pay immediately. (She sets aside funds that would have gone to federal taxes, and loans them to nonprofits working for peace and justice.) PYM devotes staff time and legal costs to support this witness, and would bear the cost of any penalty imposed upon it by the court.
Members of Interim Meeting have been called to a special session at 6 p.m. Thursday, September 18, at the Fourth and Arch Street Meeting House in Philadelphia to make decisions about whether or not PYM wishes to contest the IRS actions in court, to try to negotiate a settlement, or to meet the IRS demands. Peter Goldberger, the very able attorney who has helped us in these matters in the past, will be working with us again.
This suit is very similar to one filed against PYM in 1988 involving two other PYM employees. In that case, decided in 1990, PYM was required to pay the taxes but not a penalty, because it was a test case. The employees reimbursed PYM for the money collected.
Last modified: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:18 AM