WASHINGTON, 17 April. - (ANA) - On Tax Day, 15 April, people across the US staged demonstrations to protest the use of their tax dollars being used for foreign wars and domestic crackdowns.

 

Most of the gatherings were held in major cities in front of Israeli diplomatic missions and Immigration and Customs Enforcement buildings, with people holding Palestinian, Lebanese and Iranian flags and holding signs reading "No More Taxes for Genocide" and "No More Taxes for Israel's Wars".

 

On 28 February, the US and Israel jointly began a war on Iran, and on 2 March, Israel launched a war on Lebanon—in addition to ongoing attacks on Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The conflict has spread to the rest of the region, disrupting oil shipments and driving up prices, exacerbating a global energy and cost-of-living crisis.

 

The Tax Day demonstrations have become an annual tradition, with Americans increasingly questioning how their tax dollars are used for foreign wars and domestic immigration crackdowns.

 

This comes at a time when many Americans are shifting their sympathies away from Israel and expressing compassion for Palestinians, according to multiple polls over the last three years.

 

The US currently sends a base annual payment of around $3.8 billion to Israel for its military. This doesn't include special packages, which can add up to far more. According to a study by the Costs of War Project at Brown University, released in October 2025, Israel's War in Gaza cost the US over $30 billion up until that point.

 

"For many decades, as long as I’ve been alive at least, the US has prioritized war and destruction over the well being of the people of the US and of the world, regardless whether there’s a Democrat or a Republican in the White House," said Tarik Kanaana, co-founder of the group Taxpayers Against Genocide, in a public statement prior to the demonstrations. 

 

"After watching my people in Palestine and Lebanon and elsewhere being viciously slaughtered for nearly three years by Israel with the full backing of the US, I and so many others around the country have had enough," he continued.

 

In the days leading up to Tax Day, US President Donald Trump has threatened to annihilate Iran and has attacked Pope Leo XIV on social media over his statements advocating for peace. At the beginning of this month, Trump said in a speech that the US didn't have money for healthcare and childcare because the federal government needed to focus on military spending.

 

"There are like 20 different atrocities a day. I have a responsibility as a taxpayer, and an American, as a Jew. So much of this is being done in my name," Jeff Grubler, a demonstrator in San Francisco, told The New Arab. 

 

Another protester, George Marx, said he wasn't a "tax resister" (like most US citizens, he has paid his taxes), but said that US taxes "are being misappropriated."

 

Protesting the use of US taxes is a long American tradition. One of the most famous examples was Henry David Thoreau, whose essay Civil Disobedience detailed his opposition to US support for slavery and the Mexican-American War.

 

Since Trump came to office, a growing number of Americans have decided not to pay their taxes in protest of Trump's human rights record in the US and abroad. Penalties could include late fees or wage garnishment.  - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/17 April 2026 - - -