Objectors lose tax opt-out action
26 Jul 05
Judge dismisses judicial review by group against funding military activities
The "Peace Tax Seven", the conscientious objectors seeking to avoid paying taxes to fund UK military activities, yesterday lost their attempt to bring a judicial review of the government's refusal to allow them to opt out.
The group had argued under article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights that the Treasury should set up a special account so that their money could be spent on peaceful purposes. But Mr Justice Collins in the High Court in London refused permission to take the case to a full hearing on the ground that it was bound to fail.
The judge accepted that the issue had already been settled by the European Court in decisions in the 1980s.