his later career was complicated by ongoing financial woes. in the late 1960s, southern's spendthrift ways and lack of financial acumen led him into trouble and he was audited by the irs on several occasions beginning in 1972, resulting in heavy tax bills and penalties. tax problems dogged him for the rest of his life. in 1968, he signed the "writers and editors war tax protest" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the vietnam war.