Politics and Economics/Peace Tax

Judge rejects peace tax plea

Guardian Unlimited/London/England/UK/25-Jul-05

... the law.". The seven were from various religious traditions, including Buddhist, Anglican and Quaker, while one had no belief. But ...

Welsh mum leads 'Peace Tax Seven'

ic Wales//Wales/UK/26-Jul-05

…A WELSH mother battling to change the law so her tax does not "pay for killing" will take her case to Europe after a High Court challenge failed yesterday.

Si n Cwper is a member of the "Peace Tax Seven" who asked Mr Justice Collins for permission to seek a judicial review of a continuing government refusal to allow them to opt out of paying taxes to fund military activities.

The group's members have withheld up to 10% of their taxes, some for years, risking fines and jail.

Ms Cwper, 57, of Llanfrothen, Gwynedd, is a member of the Portmeirion Pottery family and the grand-daughter of the renowned architect Sir Clough Williams Ellis, who designed the Italianate village of Portmeirion. She is a Buddhist and the mother of two daughters, aged 26 and 14.

Ms Cwper wants the cash from her shares in Portmeirion Pottery to be spent on "averting war".

But the judge dismissed the group's application, which was backed by more than 50 supporters, and ruled their case was "bound to fail" in the domestic courts.

He indicated that the group's only hope was to take its peace tax battle to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

The seven wanted to seek court orders forcing the Treasury to establish a special fund or account so that their money could be spent on peaceful purposes.

Ms Cwper has withheld around £2,000 from the state in taxes and received letters from the Inland Revenue and from the courts saying she could be prosecuted.

After the hearing yesterday she said, "It is disappointing. We are going to meet and discuss how we are going to proceed.

"We are not going to give up now because we still want to bring about a change in the law so that we don't have to pay for killing. That is wrong."

Lawyer Michael Fordham, appearing for the seven, argued that the Treasury's continuing refusal to set up such an account violated their rights under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

Rejecting the argument, the judge agreed with Treasury lawyers, who said the European Commission of Human Rights in Strasbourg had already decided the issue against conscientious objectors in cases heard in the 1980s.

The judge said, "I am persuaded that if this matter is to be reconsidered it must be reconsidered by Strasbourg."

But first the legal process had to be exhausted in the domestic courts, and the speediest way to achieve this was for him to refuse the seven leave to seek judicial review.

He added, "I am sure that if I granted leave, in the end this case would be bound to fail."

The Peace Tax Seven are all represented by Phil Shiner of Birmingham-based solicitors Public Interest Lawyers.

During the one-day hearing, Mr Fordham said the Treasury had indicated that it respected the views of his clients but regarded them as "trapped" by the tax system laws.

"They are forced to make an impossible choice between following their conscience or obeying the law," he said.

The seven consist of people from various parts of the UK and from a range of religious traditions and beliefs including Buddhist, Anglican, Quaker and, in one case, no belief at all.

But all had "a deeply-held conscientious objection" to funding military expenditure, and some had been seeking to withhold taxes for military purposes from as far back as the early 1990s and late 1980s.

The other members are Joe Jenkins of Hereford; Birgit Vollm of Manchester; Simon Heywood of Sheffield; Roy Prockter of Essex; Robin Brookes of Wiltshire, and Brenda Boughton of Oxford.

Mr Fordham read from a statement by author and film maker Joe Jenkins, which said, "My conscience doesn't allow me to see my tax going towards Britain's possession of weapons of mass destruction and the illegal war against Iraq."

Ms Boughton, a retired Oxford teacher, had stated that she found paying towards defence expenditure "impossible to reconcile" with her religious convictions.

Mr Brookes, a traditional toy designer, said it was also against his conscience to support war preparations through his taxes.

Ms Cwper said she was compelled to believe that to contribute tax to the military was something "her moral imperative doesn't permit".

She added,

"Killing and wounding people is the opposite of that and I do not wish to pay for it. I want my taxes to go towards something beneficial and not war.

"Everybody has the right to a conscience and their beliefs."

Mr Fordham, a part-time university lecturer, said, "I want to emphasise on behalf of my clients that these are individuals who want to pay their taxes in full - but they need help.

"They need an arrangement which accommodates them so that they are able to do so.

"The question is, will the law merely respect them or protect them?"

Outside court Nusrat Chagtai, a solicitor with Public Interest Lawyers, said, "Obviously we are disappointed with the outcome, but we are not going to stop here.

"The first thing for us to consider is going to the Court of Appeal to reapply for permission to seek judicial review.

"If we are unsuccessful at that point the next step will be to go to Strasbourg."

Protester takes tax fight to High Court

East Anglian Daily Times/East Anglia/England/UK/24-Jul-05

… A PEACE protester is due in High Court today to plead for the right to pay taxes without contributing to the military.

Roy Prockter, 55, a quaker from Thorpe-le-Soken, is so adamant his money should not be spent on war he has cut down his work as a chartered management accountant so that he earns too little to pay income tax.

He was prosecuted by the Inland Revenue in 1993 after he refused to pay all of his income tax. He lost the case and was ordered to pay in full.

Now he has joined forces with six other conscientious objectors from around the country, who regard the tax system as a form of conscription which forces them to pay others to kill on their behalf.

They have each partially withheld taxes, some for years, risking fines or imprisonment.

They have pooled their experience and instructed solicitors to seek a judicial review for the right to divert the military proportion of their taxes to non-military purposes.

Their initial application was declined, but the judge opened the door to an extended hearing of an appeal against the refusal, which is due to take place in London today.

Mr Prockter said: "My action is based against all war. I'd been thinking for many years it was wrong. "I'd seen a poster saying: 'Are you praying for peace but paying for war?' which brought it home to me that I was very much doing that.

"Being an accountant and having more knowledge about tax, I had the opportunity to make a protest."

At the time of Mr Prockter's prosecution he was self employed and so able to control how much money he paid to the Inland Revenue.

He then worked for a company and was in a PAYE scheme and so unable to avoid income tax.

Since then he has cut down the amount of work he does so that he is not liable to pay income tax.

He added: "I would like to earn more money and pay tax, but at the moment I'm cutting back my activity so I don't. It also means I'm not paying for any hospitals and schools that I'd like to."

Mr Prockter said he hoped the judge would agree to a full judicial review.

"We'd like for a judge to declare the current UK tax legislation as incompatible with the Human Rights Act. That would put pressure on the Government to do something about it."

Mr Prockter suggested income tax from conscientious objectors could go into a non military conflict resolution fund.

The group, dubbed the Peace Tax Seven, is due to hold a short demonstration outside the High Court, with over 50 supporters. They will present a petition of over 2,000 signatures backing their cause. ...

Quaker loses tax battle
East Anglian Daily Times/East Anglia/England/UK/25-Jul-05

… AN ESSEX Quaker yesterday lost a High Court bid to avoid having to pay taxes to fund UK military activities.

Roy Prockter, a member of the “Peace Tax Seven”, asked Mr Justice Collins, sitting in London, for permission to seek a judicial review of a continuing Government refusal to allow them to opt out.

But the judge dismissed the group's application, which was backed by 50 supporters, and ruled their case was “bound to fail” in the domestic courts.

He indicated that their only hope was to take their peace tax battle to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Mr Prockter, 55, from Thorpe-le-Soken, wanted to seek court orders forcing the Treasury to establish a special fund or account so that his money could be spent on peaceful purposes.

Michael Fordham, appearing for the seven, argued that the Treasury's continuing refusal to set up such an account violated their rights under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Rejecting the argument, the judge agreed with Treasury lawyers, who said the European Commission of Human Rights in Strasbourg had already decided the issue against conscientious objectors in cases heard in the 1980s.

The judge said: “I am persuaded that if this matter is to be reconsidered it must be reconsidered by Strasbourg.”

But first the legal process had to be exhausted in the domestic courts, and the speediest way to achieve this was for him to refuse the seven leave to seek judicial review. ...

Christian anti-war protester wins in High Court

Ekklesia/London/England/UK/30-Jul-05

This week, seven ‘peace tax’ protestors in the UK, including a Quaker and others from different religious backgrounds, lost a ruling about their request to put the portion of their income tax that goes to military spending towards peaceful purposes instead.