Also see “The Economy of War: Why the Military-Industrial Complex Wins Every Election” by John Tarleton.

Dozens of peace activists gathered outside the Lower Manhattan IRS Office Tuesday as millions of U.S. taxpayers rushed to file their taxes. They denounced federal military spending on war and called attention to the Trump administration’s ongoing campaign to defund social services. Brooklyn for Peace, War Resisters League, Move the Money-NYC and the Raging Grannies were among the groups on hand.

In the past three months, Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has orchestrated massive cuts, contract terminations and layoffs for over 200,000 public workers, with some of the hardest-hit agencies being the likes of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Tom Gogin, who joined Tuesday’s demonstration as part of Move the Money NYC — a campaign in support of a New York City Council resolution to move federal funds from the military budget to social services — spoke to The Indypendent about the disparities in federal spending in these two arenas and how one is actively taking away from another. 

“Everything that helps people to have a decent life; school, healthcare, decent housing, decent transportation… [are] all the things that our taxes should be for, to help people to live not only decently, but well,” Gogin said. “Bombs and drones and guns and endless warfare are the exact opposite of that, and steal from us.” 

The Trump administration’s gutting of social service infrastructure comes against the backdrop of a bipartisan policy of global war and terror. The United States is the largest military spender in the world, with an $895 billion budget having been approved for the 2025 fiscal year and Trump calling for a $1 trillion budget in 2026.

The ends to which the U.S. defense budget serves have once again made themselves apparent in the past 18 months as it continues to fund the genocide of the people of Gaza. (Between Oct. 7, 2023, and Oct. 7, 2024, the United States sent over $17.9 billion to Israel.) For Alice Sturn Sutter, a nurse who’s been war-tax resisting since the 1980s, the atrocities committed on her dime keep her committed to withholding funds. 

“We’re paying for genocide in Palestine; we’re slaughtering people; we’re building up war all over the Middle East; and we’re building mass prisons all over the place,” Sutter told The Indy. “It’s very horrible. And we’re all part of it, so we have to accept responsibility as taxpayers.” 

The War Resisters League estimates that in fiscal year 2026, 50% of income taxes will go toward paying for current military spending as well as interest on past military-related spending. Ruth Benn, a member of the NYC War Resisters League who has been refusing 100% of her federal income tax owed for decades now, recognizes that the amount she individually withholds may not be much. But she says if a refusal became more widespread, it could help undermine the United States’ vast military-industrial complex. 

“It’s a protest that can’t be ignored,” Benn said. “They can walk by us today, or they can arrest us and hold us overnight, but they really don’t want people to think about not paying their taxes.” 

For more, listen to our Indypendent News Hour interview with Tara Currie, co-convener of Move the Money NYC. 

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