I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1454

To affirm the religious freedom of taxpayers who are conscientiously opposed

to participation in war, to provide that the income, estate, or gift tax

payments of such taxpayers be used for nonmilitary purposes, to create

the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund to receive such tax payments,

to improve revenue collection, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 15, 1999

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia (for himself, Mr. LEACH, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. HORN,

Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. MINGE, Ms. LEE, Ms. RIVERS, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr.

GEORGE MILLER of California, Ms. NORTON, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. MARKEY, Mr.

ENGEL, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr.

OWENS, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, and Mr.

MORAN of Kansas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to

the Committee on Ways and Means

A BILL

To affirm the religious freedom of taxpayers who are conscientiously opposed to participation in war, to provide

that the income, estate, or gift tax payments of such

taxpayers be used for nonmilitary purposes, to create

the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund to receive such

tax payments, to improve revenue collection, and for

other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Religious Freedom

3 Peace Tax Fund Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 Congress finds that—

6 (1) the framers of the United States Constitu7 tion, recognizing free exercise of religion as an

8 unalienable right, secured its protection in the First

9 Amendment of the Constitution; and Congress re10 affirmed it in the Religious Freedom Restoration

11 Act of 1993;

12 (2) taxpayers who are conscientious objectors

13 recognize and affirm their civic and legal respon14 sibilities to pay their full share of Federal taxes, and

15 seek to do so without violation of their moral, eth16 ical, or religious beliefs;

17 (3) for more than 25 years, these taxpayers

18 have sought legal relief from either having their

19 homes, automobiles, and other property seized, bank

20 accounts attached, wages garnished, fines imposed,

21 and threat of imprisonment for failure to pay, or

22 violating their consciences;

23 (4) conscientious objection to participation in

24 military service based upon moral, ethical, or reli25 gious beliefs is recognized in Federal law, with provi26 sion for alternative service; and
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1 (5) the Joint Committee on Taxation in 1992

2 and 1994 has certified that a tax trust fund, pro3 viding for conscientious objector taxpayers to pay

4 their full taxes for non-military purposes, would in5 crease Federal revenues.

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

7 (a) DESIGNATED CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR.—For

8 purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘designated conscientious

9 objector’’ means a taxpayer who is opposed to participa10 tion in war in any form based upon the taxpayer’s deeply

11 held moral, ethical, or religious beliefs or training (within

12 the meaning of the Military Selective Service Act (50

13 U.S.C. App. 450 et seq.)), and who has certified these be14 liefs in writing to the Secretary of the Treasury in such

15 form and manner as the Secretary provides.

16 (b) MILITARY PURPOSE.—For purposes of this Act,

17 the term ‘‘military purpose’’ means any activity or pro18 gram which any agency of the Government conducts, ad19 ministers, or sponsors and which effects an augmentation

20 of military forces or of defensive and offensive intelligence

21 activities, or enhances the capability of any person or na22 tion to wage war, including the appropriation of funds by

23 the United States for—

24 (1) the Department of Defense;

25 (2) the Central Intelligence Agency;
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1 (3) the National Security Council;

2 (4) the Selective Service System;

3 (5) activities of the Department of Energy that

4 have a military purpose;

5 (6) activities of the National Aeronautics and

6 Space Administration that have a military purpose;

7 (7) foreign military aid; and

8 (8) the training, supplying, or maintaining of

9 military personnel, or the manufacture, construction,

10 maintenance, or development of military weapons,

11 installations, or strategies.

12 SEC. 4. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM PEACE TAX FUND.

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Treas14 ury shall establish an account in the Treasury of the

15 United States to be known as the ‘‘Religious Freedom

16 Peace Tax Fund’’, for the deposit of income, gift, and es17 tate taxes paid by or on behalf of taxpayers who are des18 ignated conscientious objectors. The method of deposit

19 shall be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury in

20 a manner that minimizes the cost to the Treasury and

21 does not impose an undue burden on such taxpayers.

22 (b) USE OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM PEACE TAX

23 FUND.—Funds in the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund

24 shall be allocated annually to any appropriation not for

25 a military purpose.
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1 (c) REPORT.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall re2 port to the Committees on Appropriations of the House

3 of Representatives and the Senate each year on the total

4 amount transferred into the Religious Freedom Peace Tax

5 Fund during the preceding fiscal year and the purposes

6 for which such amount was allocated in such preceding

7 fiscal year. Such report shall be printed in the Congres8 sional Record upon receipt by the Committees.

9 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con10 gress that any increase in revenue to the Treasury result11 ing from the creation of the Religious Freedom Peace Tax

12 Fund shall be allocated in a manner consistent with the

13 purposes of the Fund.

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