An Act of Conscience
 

Reviewed April 17, 1999
Released 1998
Directed by Robbie Leppzer
 
This documentary is about a tax evading couple from Massachusetts, Randy Kehler and Betsy Corner, who have their house seized by the federal government. It's important to note that they're tax-evaders not tax cheats. They file a federal tax form every year, but they stopped paying federal taxes in 1979. Twelve years later, the IRS finally caught up to them. They gave the couple a chance to pay their $21,000 or so in back taxes and penalties, but the couple refused. Eventually the IRS notified them that their home had been seized and they were evicted, but Randy and Betsy refused to leave. Nine months later, the government finally arrived to forcibly remove them. Randy refused, and he was jailed.

In the meantime, the IRS auctioned their house in their home town of Colrain, but no one placed a bid. Actually, Randy and Betsy's supporters raised $21,000 in food and supplies, which they offered for the house, but the IRS rejected their offer. The plan was to give the supplies to the government, which would distribute them to the needy. This shows an incredible lack of understanding of how government works, but gives perfect insight into Randy, Betsy, and their supporters. You see, Randy and Betsy are hippies, and they belong to a large group of hippies who refuse to pay federal taxes. They do so to protest the federal war machine. They feel if they were to give money to the federal government, they would be helping to pay for bombs and killing. They can not do this morally, therefore their refusal to pay federal taxes is an act of conscience.

The one thing I respected this couple for is they take the amount of money they owe the federal government each year and distribute it to various charities. Half goes to war victims, and the other half to local charities. Furthermore, they do pay their state and local taxes. So, it's not that they simply don't want to pay taxes like their violent, tax evading, militia counterparts. They just want to select where their money goes. Well, wouldn't we all? This is one change the hippies would like to effect with their protest, but what they don't understand is with the current ultra-conservative mood of the country, social programs would probably be the first to go.

While Randy is in jail, their house is successfully auctioned in a larger city for $5,400 to a low income couple with a young baby. In a great irony, the young woman, Terry, was able to buy the house with her federal tax refund. When they arrive at the house, they're shocked to find it full of dozens of people. During this whole ordeal, Randy's supporters had pledged to stage a 24/7 sit-in. The fact that someone else had legally purchased the house had no bearing on this--they simply refused to recognize the purchase. This led to one of my favorite moments of the film, because it's the first time someone challenged these people on their beliefs. It's the first time someone said you have to pay your taxes. That person was Terry, who was initially intimidated by the group, but later became as forceful in her convictions as her opponents.

I don't want to describe everything that happens throughout this ordeal, but the issue changes from a protest against federal taxes to a property dispute. The one aspect that complicates the otherwise clear-cut dispute is that the land the house sits on is not owned by the homeowners. It's leased from a commune like trust, which allows Randy and his supporters to continue their 24 hour sit-in on the property for almost two years. Much of the film documents the struggle between the tax-evaders and the new homeowners.

When I started watching this film, I was angry with this couple and their fellow tax-evaders. In fact, I still am. I pay my taxes. I do so even though I disagree with how a lot of federal money is spent. I didn't agree with Reagan's mind boggling military build-up throughout the 80's, but I still paid my taxes. I didn't agree with our covert funding and training of the Contras (an important motivation for Randy and Betsy), but I still paid my taxes. I'm sure you'd be hard pressed to find many Americans who completely agree with the federal budget, whether it be the military, law enforcement or social programs, but the vast majority of them still pay their taxes. One reason for this is while you may disagree with certain parts of the budget, you must agree with other parts. If you don't agree with anything the federal government does and you're not willing to fund it, then you shouldn't be allowed to live under its protection (unless it's as a guest in a federal prison).

The biggest motivation for paying your taxes, however, is fear. I never thought you could openly flout your non-payment for twelve years with no action from the IRS. These people filed their forms every year detailing how much they owed, but they never sent payment. They also held a group demonstration every year at the local IRS building, where they openly defied the IRS to do something. They carried placards stating they refused to pay taxes. Yet, with the exception of Randy and Betsy, nothing happened to these people. The rest of the group were shocked when the government had the "gall" to seize Randy and Betsy's house. They actually believe you can simply declare that you're a conscientious objector, and, based on some bizarre logic that the federal court rejected, not pay taxes.

I respect these people for taking a stand and having the conviction to go to prison for it, but I don't agree with their cause. I kept wondering what they could have accomplished if they had taken all of the energy they put into harassing a young family into something else. Those dozens of people, who staged a round-the-clock sit-in for almost two years, could have had a large impact in their community. Instead, when it was all over, they really accomplished nothing. They got the house back, but all they did was kick a family out of a house they never could have afforded otherwise. They had no effect on the federal government or the general public.

The most surprising aspect of this film is how the IRS is portrayed. I expected them to be shown as an evil government agency that tried to destroy this family's lives. Instead, they were shown as an ineffectual agency that is not doing its one job--collecting taxes. I wish the IRS would crack down on all of these tax-evaders. Otherwise, I'd like to know why I have to pay taxes and they don't. From watching this film, it doesn't look like I have to either.

Reviewed by Bill Alward  Home
 
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