What Happens If Mayors of Sanctuary Cities Retaliate Against Trump by Cutting Off Tax Payments From City Employees and Sequestering Them in Escrow Accounts?

The term for what you’re proposing is “tax strike."

Anti-Trump march on Nov. 10, 2016. (Christopher Onstott)
By Marty Smith

The POTUS told mayors of so-called "sanctuary cities" he'll cut off their federal funds. What happens if mayors retaliate by cutting off IRS withholding tax payments from city employees, to be sequestered in escrow accounts? —Artix PDX

I'm not trying to drop a deuce on your quinceañera, Artix, but I'm afraid you and your orange-tinted foe share the same oversimplified view of how modern taxation actually works.

The term for what you're proposing is "tax strike," and it's no coincidence that this search term leads directly to the impractical conspiracy-theory fever swamps of both political extremes.

There was certainly a time, back when taxation was more or less indistinguishable from simple extortion, when a ruler and his subjects could have a spirited cut-and-thrust through this avenue of protest.

Consider Wikipedia's admirably succinct summary of a tax strike in medieval England: "In 1041, residents of Worcester rebelled against [the tax] being collected by King Harthacnut, and killed two of his tax collectors. Harthacnut responded by burning Worcester to the ground."

I am quite sure Donald Trump wishes he lived in the simpler days of King Harthacnut, but the truth is that not only does he lack the power to burn Portland to the ground, it's not at all clear he has the power to cut off our federal money (see Dr. Know, WW, Nov. 30, 2016).

The flip side of this good news, however, is that it's also not clear there is any effective way to stage a tax strike of the sort you're proposing. It's not like we can just ambush Trump's tax collectors when they sweep into town on St. Swithin's Day.  (It's true that California is studying ways to suspend federal transfer payments, but it's a big legal and logistical challenge.)

Instead, may I suggest the Tax Day protests that will be held nationwide April 15? Those assembled will be demanding the release of the tax returns that Kellyanne Conway said no one cares about. Plus, there may be giant Trump-shaped inflatable chickens—how can you say no?

QUESTIONS? Send them to dr.know@wweek.com.

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