Joan Baez in Tax Protest

Apr. 15, 1965 - Joan Baez, the folk singer, went through her annual ritual today — she refused to pay 60% of her income tax to protest the use of Federal money for armaments.

The 25-year-old singer, who has declined to pay 60% of her taxes since 1963, told the Internal Revenue Service in San Francisco in a letter:

“This country has gone mad. But I will not go mad with it. I will not pay for organized murder. I will not pay for the war in Vietnam.”

In previous years, the Government has placed liens on her income and property. The latest liens, issued last January, were for more than $50,000.

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