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The tax man cometh: Libertarians protest taxes in Indiana

Updated 12:00 PM ET April 17, 2001

By Joseph S. Pete

    Indiana Daily Student

    Indiana U.

    (U-WIRE) BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Few look forward to tax day, which fell on April 16 this year.

    Libertarians probably dread it more than anyone, but some party members said they see it as a political opportunity.

    A few dozen gathered outside the downtown post office at 206 E. Fourth St. Monday evening, bearing cardboard signs decrying bloated government. While sophomore Matt Briddell blared away on a trombone, they passed out literature to harried citizens hurrying to get tax return forms postmarked.

    It's an inconvenience that no one should go through, said Monroe County Libertarian Party Chairman Erin Hollinden, a graduate student. In keeping with the Libertarian platform, she called for the abolition of the personal income tax.

    "The income tax breeds corruption among otherwise upstanding citizens," she said. "They may do nothing wrong or illegal over the course of the year, but come April they all cheat to pay the minimum of taxes. It's easy to understand that taking money from the people without their consent is immoral."

    Hollinden wove through the crowd with a clipboard, speaking to whomever would listen.

    "We're not encouraging that you break the law and not pay your taxes," she said. "But it's outright theft. We're never going to see the money we invest to Social Security."

    For Hollinden, picketing the post office in mid-April is an annual affair.

    That's not the case for the IU College Republicans, who spoke out Monday after some wheedling from Hollinden. While the parties sometimes ram heads, sophomore Josh Claybourn said they share a similar view on the tax issue.

    "Taxes are radically high," he said. "They're higher than than they've ever been in peacetime. And it doesn't make any sense -- economists say that muzzles the strength of the economy."

    Urging tax relief, Claybourn said too much power is concentrated in the hands of Washington bureaucrats.

    "President (George W.) Bush's ($1.6 trillion tax cut) plan is a good start," he said. "It's political, because if it were any higher, they'd claim that only the rich would benefit. But we have a $5 trillion dollar surplus, and they're telling the people that they can't keep their own money."

    Claybourn's sentiment was echoed by those huddled out in a brisk wind.

    "Income taxes just feed the leviathan that is the federal government," said Paul Hager, who received 2 percent of the statewide vote when running for U.S. Senator last fall. "Today's a day when most people would be receptive to our message. Some government spending is legitimate, but we're drastically overtaxed."

    The Libertarian Party -- which has a handful of officeholders in Indiana -- thrives on such grassroots activism, Hager said.

    "We just want to get out ideas out," he said. "That's what politics is all about. It's just another arrow in the quiver."

(C) 2001 Indiana Daily Student via U-WIRE

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