In the United States v. American Friends Service Committee et al., 1974, the U.S Supreme Court dealt with a case involving tax resistance during the Vietnam War. The defendants, including Quaker organizations and individuals who opposed war on religious grounds, had refused to pay a portion of their federal income taxes equivalent to what they believed was being spent on military activities. They argued that this requirement violated their First Amendment rights by forcing them to financially support actions contrary to their deeply held beliefs. However, the court ruled against them stating that while freedom of belief is absolute under First Amendment protections, freedom of action can be regulated for societal reasons such as maintaining an effective taxation system necessary for government functioning.

In the dissenting opinion for United States v. American Friends Service Committee et al., Justice Douglas argued that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had overstepped its authority by attempting to collect taxes directly from a taxpayer's bank account without first obtaining a court order. He contended that this action was in violation of due process rights, as it did not give taxpayers an opportunity to contest the IRS's determination of tax liability before their assets were seized. Furthermore, he believed that such actions could potentially lead to abuses of power and infringements on individual liberties if left unchecked. Therefore, he dissented from the majority opinion which upheld these practices as lawful under existing statutes.