A British man prefers to be jailed than pay taxes which he believes would fund a "blatantly illegal war" in Iraq.
Mr Robin Brookes is facing trial at Swindon County Court for refusing to pay a £580 income tax bill plus interest and court costs for the tax year 2003-4, The Independent Online Edition reported. About 22 protestors gathered outside the court on Monday with banner reading: “Taxes for peace not war" to show their support for the 52-year-old man.
At the hearing, magistrates told Mr Brookes that bailiffs would seize his goods on May 5 unless he pays.
Mr Brookes, who says that 10% of all tax is used by the British government to fund the army, describes the imminent seizure of his goods as "blood money".
"I don't want to break the law, and I want to contribute to education and health, the law and the police force, but I cannot pay for a government's killing machine… The Iraq War is illegal and it is against the will of the people, which was amply demonstrated by people marching in London. I have been withholding taxes since the March 2003 invasion."
Mr Brookes is withholding the £580 which, along with £550 that he has already been forced to pay, represents ten percent of all tax he hadn’t paid since the Iraq War began. He also owes part of his income tax for the following year 2004-5 which has yet to be pursued.
The self-employed toy designer from Devizes, Wiltshire, said he wouldn’t put up any "physical resistance" when the bailiffs arrive and was happy to go to prison if they failed to recover enough property to cover the debt. He says that he will voluntarily pay the money when is assured that it will not be used for military purposes.
"Why should I worry?" he said. "It's the poor people in Iraq I am concerned about. Their houses are bombed, they live in fear, their communities are in ruins. I don't seek to decide where the money should go. It could go on education or health or perhaps into a non-violent conflict resolution,
“Having invaded and made a complete mess of Iraq, the British and American troops have no place there - we've totally messed it up and should get out. People live in fear of crime and kidnapping. To get one man [Saddam], there have been tens of thousands of deaths,” he says.
Mr Brookes appeared in court three years ago over his refusal to pay taxes. In October 2003, magistrates in Chippenham told him that he was free to express his opinion through the ballot box and gave him three months to pay £550.
In January 2004, bailiffs seized the money from Mr Brookes' home. He had pinned the money to a board, over which he wrote a banner saying: "Every 10 seconds, Britain spends this much on occupying Iraq." The bailiffs unpinned the money and left.
Mr Brookes is part of "peace tax seven", a group of men and women who have all refused to pay their taxes to fund the Iraq War. They want a peace tax fund to be set up into which they can pay their taxes towards peaceful purposes, such as education and health and non-violent conflict resolution.
In June 2005, the group took their case to the High Court. After being refused a permission for a judicial review, they appeared at the Court of Appeal four weeks ago. If they are unsuccessful, they will take the case to Strasbourg.
Mr Brookes’ case follows that of 72-year-old Douglas Barker, of Purton, Wiltshire, who was told in February that the Inland Revenue can seize and sell his possessions to repay the £1,215.45 he owes from withholding 10% of his income tax in protest at the Iraq War.
"This is not about money, it is about conscience," Mr Brookes says. "At best the money is simply wasted. A non-violent conflict resolution programme is urgently needed. I am appalled by the huge amount of money spent on the military, which is ultimately only going to create misery, death and destruction."
Al Jazeera