Vivien Kellems (June 7, 1896 – January 25, 1975) was an American industrialist, inventor, public speaker, and political candidate who became known for her battle with the
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fe ...
over
withholding
Tax withholding, also known as tax retention, Pay-as-You-Go, Pay-as-You-Earn, Tax deduction at source or a ''Prélèvement à la source'', is income tax paid to the government by the payer of the income rather than by the recipient of the income. ...
unde
26 U.S.C. §3402and other aspects of
income tax in the United States. She was also a fervent supporter of
voting reform and the
Equal Rights Amendment.
Life and career
Born in Des Moines, Iowa, to David Clinton Kellems and Amanda Louise (née Flint), Kellems received a
BA from the
University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
in 1918, where she became the only woman on the
debate team
Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...
. She went on to earn a master's degree in economics, and worked towards a
PhD at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
and the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
.
![Vivien Kellems](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Vivien_Kellems.jpg)
In 1927, she founded Kellems Cable Grips, Inc. in
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
to produce a
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
ed cable grip invented with her brother, Edgar Eugene Kellems. The endless-weave grip was an improved version of the wire mesh grip in use at the time to pull, position, route and relieve strain of electrical cables. In 1928, Kellems solicited Queens Electric Light and Power Company and the Brooklyn Edison Company for a total of twenty orders.
Tax resistance
In 1948, Kellems refused to collect
withholding tax
Tax withholding, also known as tax retention, Pay-as-You-Go, Pay-as-You-Earn, Tax deduction at source or a ''Prélèvement à la source'', is income tax paid to the government by the payer of the income rather than by the recipient of the income ...
es from her employees on behalf of the government, stating, "If they wanted me to be their agent, they'd have to pay me, and I want a badge." She was interviewed about her tax opposition on "
Meet the Press
''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the longest-running program on American television, though the current format bears little resemblance to the debut episode on November 6, 1947. ' ...
" on September 26, 1948, at a time when women rarely appeared on the show. She has described herself in her book ''Toil, Taxes and Trouble''. The Kellems case is presented also by economist
Murray Rothbard
Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School, economic historian, political theorist, and activist. Rothbard was a central figure in the 20th-century American libertarian ...
in his book ''
For a New Liberty
''For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto'' (1973; second edition 1978; third edition 1985) is a book by American economist and historian Murray Rothbard, in which the author promotes anarcho-capitalism. The work has been credited as an infl ...
'':
She surrendered her case when her continued pursuit of it threatened to bankrupt her company. She continued to challenge that and other aspects of the income tax for the rest of her life, saying in a 1975 ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' interview, "Our tax law is a 1,598-page hydra-headed monster and I'm going to attack and attack and attack until I have ironed out every fault in it." From 1965 until her death, Kellems reportedly sent only blank returns to the
Internal Revenue Service. Her stands against the income tax system have made Kellems an admired figure in the
tax protester
A tax protester is someone who refuses to pay a tax claiming that the tax laws are unconstitutional or otherwise invalid. Tax protesters are different from tax resisters, who refuse to pay taxes as a protest against a government or its policie ...
movement.
In April 1951, the
U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut ruled that Kellems was entitled to a refund of income taxes assessed against her employees for which the government had been overpaid (that is, the tax had been collected from both the employees and Kellems). The Court also ruled that Kellems and her co-plaintiff David Kellems were not entitled to a refund of penalties they had paid on account of their refusal to withhold taxes, as the Kellems were unable to show that their refusal was with reasonable cause under the law. For another period in question, a jury did find that Kellems' conduct was not willful, and that she was therefore entitled to a refund of penalty she had paid.
In 1973, the
United States Tax Court
The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a federal trial court of record established by Congress under Article I of the U.S. Constitution, section 8 of which provides (in part) that the Congress has the power to "constitute Tr ...
ruled that Kellems was liable for a deficiency in federal income tax for the year 1965. The Court rejected her argument that the tax was unconstitutional under the Fifth, Ninth, Fourteenth, and Sixteenth Amendments and article I, section 2 clause 3 and article I, section 9, clause 4 of the U.S. Constitution.
In 1975, she died at age 78. The government made her heirs pay $265,000 in back taxes.
Kellems was a candidate for office in Connecticut a number of times, running for the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
in 1952, 1956, and 1958 and for
Governor of Connecticut
The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Connecticut Military Department, military forces. The Governor (United States), governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...
in 1954. She ran as an
Independent Republican in her first two attempts at office and solely as an
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
in the latter two. Her best showing came in her 1952 race for Senate, winning 22,268 or 2.04% of the votes cast.
Our Campaigns: Vivien Kellems
/ref>
See also
* Tax resistance in the United States
Footnotes
External links
*
Vivien Kellems Papers from the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut
by David T. Beito.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kellems, Vivien
1896 births
1975 deaths
American manufacturing businesspeople
American tax resisters
American women business executives
American business executives
American women's rights activists
Columbia University alumni
Businesspeople from Des Moines, Iowa
University of Oregon alumni
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American businesswomen
Tax protesters in the United States