Friends Committee on War Tax Concerns Records

The Friends Committee on War Tax Concerns (FCWTC) was created in 1985 under the sponsorship of the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC). Its stated purpose was to address the widespread and growing concern in the Society of Friends on many aspects of war taxes. From 1985 until 1988, when the Committee was disbanded, the FCWTC published a wide range of educational booklets, networked with other peace tax groups in the U.S. and abroad, and sponsored or participated in a number of regional conferences, including one dedicated to providing Quaker employers with information and support in matters of war tax resistance. The minutes of the final meeting of the Committee reads, “While we cannot say that the Religious Society of Friends has reached unity on this issue in the last three years, we believe that the issue has been raised more clearly and in a more effective way through the Committee’s work” [June 8, 1988].Linda Coffin, previously of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, served as the sole staffperson for the FCWTC for the three years of its existence. Wallace T. Collett served as clerk of the meetings. The rest of the Committee consisted of about fifteen representatives from many other prominent Friends groups, such as the Friends General Conference, the American Friends Service Committee, and the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.