3 thoughts on “Obligations of US citizenship include taxes and possible military service”

1. During a Federal Court hearing in Toronto on Monday, lawyers for the Department of Justice argued that Kimberly would not be detained when she crossed the border. A federal court judge ultimately denied her request for a stay of removal, finding arrest and detention to be speculative.

   The speculation was wrong.

   U.S. Iraq War resister Kimberly Rivera voluntarily presented herself at the us border this morning, after requests to have Jason Kenney process her humanitarian and compassionate application were denied.

   Kimberly was immediately arrested and detained, and transferred to military custody. She now awaits transfer to a different military facility where she faces punishment for being absent from her unit.

   Things are different now than then:

   During the period of 1965-1973, more than 50,000 Americans made their way to Canada, refusing to participate in an immoral war in Vietnam. At the time, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau said: “Those who make a conscientious judgment that they must not participate in this war… have my complete sympathy, and indeed our political approach has been to give them access to Canada. Canada should be a refuge from militarism.”

   Although many Vietnam War resisters came to Canada due to the imposition of the draft, 10,000 of those Americans were volunteers. Many of the most outspoken opponents of the Vietnam War had signed up to serve but later realized that they did not wish to participate in an immoral war of aggression. At the time, Canada welcomed both draft dodgers and deserters (volunteers).

   Things are different with the IRS too, the IRS who for decades did not come after ‘US Persons’ in other countries, those paying taxes to the countries they worked and lived in, who would have owed the US $0.00. The taxes owed for most will still be $0.00 or little, but the penalties are a fund-raiser for the USA. Presumed ‘tax evaders’; military deserters may reside in the same part of US homelander consciousness — “Traitor”.

2. Didnt the US manage to imprision Al Capone based on tax evasion? I imagine that if they really feel like punishing someone they dissaprove of that they could easily tack on some tax related charge to the dissertion one to extend the sentence by quite a bit.

3. Probably not the most popular response to this….the fact of the matter is that there is NO draft in the United States and she entered the Military of her own free will. Having said this, people must take responsibility for there actions, and although I feel for her situation, I have a hard time reasoning with this sort of drama when it could have been avoided with some fore thought on her behalf.

   Giving status to individuals who were forced to fight for something that they did not believe in is something different…ie: Veitnam.