A new grassroots group challenging corporate tax dodgers had its inception point on February 26 when US Uncut launched a significant national Day of Action via facebook and twitter. Inspired by the success of UK Uncut, the group formed spontaneous protests mostly at Bank of America branches around the country. Aside from its role in mortgage fraud, Bank of America is among the top tax evaders — the company paid $0 in income tax for 2009 or 2010 — using offshore accounts, bookkeeping gymnastics and loopholes to evade paying any taxes in the country where they do business. If corporations like BofA paid up, the deep cuts in social services being forced upon citizens at state and federal levels would be unnecessary.
I participated in the action in front of the BofA branch in downtown LA. About 40-50 enthusiastic people turned up on a cold and early morning, including a young girl of around 8 years old who led us all in chants of “change” “now.” Photos I took were selected for the cover of The Nation’s slide show as well as Yes! Magazine’s photo essay. Protests were held in 50 cities around the country and a few — such as the one in Washington D.C. — shut down the branch for the day.
The next US Uncut Day of Action is Saturday, March 12 — this time the action in LA is happening in Glendale: 2420 Glendale Blvd @ Siverlake. More days of action are planned for the coming months. For more information, find US Uncut on the web, facebook, or twitter (@USUncut).
Galleries and stories below:
My photo was used for the cover of The Nation’s slide show:
Slide Show: America’s Day of Action: US Uncut and Solidarity with Wisconsin
On Saturday, February 26, progressives carried out a major day of action as protesters from coast to coast joined Wisconsin workers in solidarity against right-wing attacks on union organizing rights, and in fifty cities across the country, the grassroots organization US Uncut debuted as a serious, mobilized effort to fight corporate tax dodging. The combined energy of these protests has fueled a rebirth of impassioned activism, with demonstrators demanding a new focus on economic justice to replace the “cuts, cuts, cuts” mantra the right has used to dominate the national conversation for years.
Another one of my photos was included in Yes! Magazine’s photo essay:
US Uncut: Standing Up to Corporate Tax Dodgers
Inspired by the British movement against corporate tax dodgers, the new grassroots group US Uncut held protests around the country on February 26, most of them in front of Bank of America branches. Why? The bank paid no income taxes in 2009 and 2010. US Uncut is calling out large corporations that find loopholes or use offshore tax havens to evade paying taxes in the country where they do business. If corporations paid up, activists point out, many of the deep cuts in social services happening at the state and federal level wouldn’t be necessary.
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