Members of the Libertarian Party, along with state and local Libertarian Party affiliates, are holding at least 26 Tax Day protests across the country throughout the weekend leading up to April 15. The protest events are being held in 17 different states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. Each protest is inspired by the Libertarian idea that all people have the right to keep their own wealth and possessions. Expropriation is just as wrong when committed by governments as it is when it’s committed by petty thieves.
“All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor,” the Libertarian Party platform states. “We call for the repeal of the income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution. We oppose any legal requirements forcing employers to serve as tax collectors. We support any initiative to reduce or abolish any tax, and oppose any increase on any tax for any reason. To the extent possible, we advocate that all public services be funded in a voluntary manner.”
The current list of protest events can be found online in a spreadsheet that may be updated through Tax Day as new events are added. From coast to coast, Libertarians will explain why we are fundamentally opposed to the use of force to coerce people into doing anything, including paying taxes.
“The monstrous levels of government power we see throughout the world are financed by systematic theft,” said Libertarian National Committee Chair Nicholas Sarwark. “Anyone who believes in liberty, who believes in keeping more of what you earn, who believes in less government, is welcome join us.”
Cutting taxes and government spending will also have tangible benefits for all Americans by:
- Keeping more money in the budgets of the people who earned it.
- Forcing politicians to cut government waste.
- Creating jobs.
- Incentivizing workers to produce more because they can keep more of what they earn.
- Making businesses more profitable, returning more money to shareholders and owners, and making America more prosperous.
- Requiring politicians to repeal laws and end government programs that do more harm than good.
- Moving money out of the wasteful government sector and into the productive, private sector.
- Putting millions or billions of dollars into the private sector that can be invested in small businesses — the engines of economic growth.
- Replacing inefficient bureaucracies with private enterprise and private charities, which work far better and more humanely, and operate at a fraction of the cost of government.
- Encouraging and empowering people to be self-sufficient and enabling them to better support their families.
This Tax Day, find and join one of the more than two dozen Tax Day happening throughout the United States, one of which may be near you. It’s also not too late to organize your own. Libertarians who would like to join the cause can create a Tax Day protest event that will be added to our nationwide list.
