The Common Good
May-June 1999

Fund Raising for Cruise Missiles?

by Molly Marsh | May-June 1999

In the first such case in nine years, the Internal Revenue Service has taken longtime
activist and war tax resister Ed Hedemann to court.

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In the first such case in nine years, the Internal Revenue Service has taken longtime activist and war tax resister Ed Hedemann to court. Hedemann, a resident of Brooklyn, began withholding his taxes in 1972 as a protest against the Vietnam War, donating the withheld money to several nonprofit organizations. Supporters of Hedemann staged a march in New York City when his hearing began.

Hedemann claims the IRS has "routinely sent me threatening notices and levies, called me at home, harassed organizations I work for, and looked for nonexistent bank accounts and property. But this is the first time they’ve ever taken me to court. I guess they’re in desperate need of more money to pay for all those cruise missiles." During the past 30 years, only six out of 8,000-10,000 U.S. war tax resisters have been taken to court, according to the War Resisters League.

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