Protest the War or accept your own Guilt.

Thousands Protest War by Withholding Phone Tax

by Beth Potter

Peace activist Bill Sulzman in Colorado Springs, Colo., protests the war in Iraq by refusing to pay the federal excise tax of about 50 cents on his monthly phone bill.

Sulzman also recruits others who are against U.S. military involvement in Iraq to stop paying the tax, which was first adopted in 1898 to pay for the Spanish-American war.

The tax raises about $5 billion each year, which activists say goes to fund war efforts. The IRS won't confirm that the money goes exclusively to the military, but instead says it goes for general fund expenditures, including military spending.

"It's kind of entry-level active resistance," Sulzman said. "Phone companies don't cut off the phones. They don't have the leverage."