When is it a crime to pay council tax, VAT, PAYE, fines, tax? Most of us know that evading tax is a crime, but how many of us know that paying council tax can also be a crime? Chris Coverdale, a tax resister, explains. It is a little known but salutary fact that every time a person pays council tax we make a small but significant contribution to war, thereby rendering ourselves liable to prosecution and punishment as an accessory to war crimes. Under the laws of war citizens are forbidden from taking part in war crimes and terrorist acts and are legally bound to disobey the orders of any Government that supports or endorses such illegal acts of aggression1. This universal duty to refuse to obey unlawful orders includes orders to pay tax [Income tax, council tax, VAT etc]. If governments use taxpayers’ money for unlawful purposes such as waging a war of aggression or engaging in acts of terrorism, the obligation of taxpayers to pay tax is reversed and becomes a legal duty to refuse to pay tax. The legislation makes it clear that if taxpayers continue to pay tax or tax collectors continue to collect tax, knowing that some of it will be used to wage war and contribute to the deaths of innocent men women and children, they become accessories to the crimes of their Government and criminally liable for arrest, prosecution and punishment as war criminals. Contrary to the UK Governments repeated claims of legality, each of the wars fought or supported by Britain since 2001 against Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria is illegal in both international and domestic law. By using cruise missiles, rockets, bombs, drones and radioactive munitions to attack and kill thousands of civilians, Britain’s leaders violated the binding terms of the Kellogg-Briand Pact, the UN Charter, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Court Act 2001 and the Terrorism Act 2000. Many of us will find it hard to believe that British Governments could deceive Parliament, the armed forces and the public so totally over such an important issue as the illegality of war. But one only has to read the laws for one’s self to establish the truth of this assertion. If you are becoming concerned that you have unwittingly supported war crimes, you will be relieved to know that the legislators provided innocent participants with a get-out clause2. As long as we end our part in the crimes and halt the payment of taxes or divert them into trust accounts to be withheld from the Government and its agents3 until it ends the fighting, we will not be punished by the International Criminal Court. The fact, that council tax payers can be arrested, tried and punished as war criminals alongside the civil, political and military leaders responsible for the illegal wars may come as an unwelcome shock to those who are not familiar with the law, but it should be no surprise to anyone who has experienced or considered the horrific consequences of war. Waging a war of aggression, in which thousands of men women and children are injured and killed, is the world’s most evil act; so supporting aggressive war, by paying tax and providing funds which are used for unlawful purposes, ranks alongside it as a monstrous crime. So having read this article we now have a decision to make. Do we obey and uphold the laws of war and withhold our taxes thus forcing the British Government to end its wars and atrocities, or do we continue to break the law by paying tax and thereby risk prosecution and punishment alongside our leaders as an accessory to their war crimes? Each of us must make a choice. Chris Coverdale, Rye, January 2014 WHEN WAR IS ILLEGAL, PAYING TAX IS A WAR CRIME, SO PAYING TAX WHILE BRITAIN SUPPORTS ILLEGAL WARS IN AFGHANISTAN, IRAQ, LIBYA OR SYRIA MAKES TAXPAYERS WAR CRIMINALS. 1 Nuremburg War Crimes Tribunal 1946“The very essence of the Charter is that individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience imposed by the individual State. He who violates the laws of war cannot obtain immunity while acting in pursuance of the authority of the State, if the State in authorising action moves outside its competence under international law…” 2Article 25.3(f) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. 3Anyone who collects taxes, duties, licence fees, fines etc by authority of an Act of Parliament is an agent of Government and is criminally liable for their actions. This means that staff of HMR&C, councillors collecting council tax, company directors collecting PAYE as well as owners of businesses collecting VAT are accessories to war crimes and liable for arrest. makewarshistory.co.uk
Posted on: Tue, 18 Feb 2014 03:33:01 +0000
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