Virginia moves to strip tax breaks for Confederate groups

The headquarters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy on Arthur Ashe Boulevard in Richmond. The organization owns more than a dozen Confederate statues in Virginia. (Scott Elmquist/ Style Weekly)

Virginia took another decisive step in its ongoing reckoning with its Confederate past as the House of Delegates in a bipartisan move approved legislation to strip tax-exempt status from organizations tied to the Confederacy. 

House Bill 1699, which passed by a 53-42 vote on Friday, targets groups like the Virginia Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), ending their property and recordation tax privileges.

For Del. Alex Askew, D-Virginia Beach, the bill’s sponsor, the measure is about fairness and priorities in a state still grappling with how to honor its history without glorifying a legacy rooted in oppression. 

“A tax exemption is a privilege and not a right,” Askew said during a news conference at the state Capitol in Richmond last week, emphasizing that the legislation isn’t about erasing history but addressing fiscal responsibility and equity.

The bill specifically targets several groups, including the UDC, the Confederate Memorial Literary Society, and the Stonewall Jackson Memorial, Inc. If passed by the Senate and signed into law, these organizations would be required to pay taxes on their properties, aligning with Democrats’ broader efforts to reassess Virginia’s support of Confederate symbols and institutions.

“According to the administration and the Department of Taxation, my bill would have a positive effect on state and local revenues,” Askew said. “And I’ll say it again: This legislation does not challenge Confederate organizations’ right to exist. It is not about free speech, it’s not about taking down any monuments. But it’s about fairness and financial and fiscal priorities of Virginia.”

Askew’s bill represents a renewed effort after an identical proposal was vetoed last year by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The earlier measure, sponsored by Sen. Angelia Williams Graves, D-Norfolk, had successfully passed both chambers of the General Assembly in 2024 before being blocked by the governor. 

Youngkin justified the move by arguing the legislation unfairly singled out specific groups and set a dangerous precedent. In his veto statement, he called the current property tax exemption system inconsistent and outdated, noting that some organizations with exemptions, like the UDC and the Ocean View Democratic and Social Club, have affiliations or names that are politically or socially contentious.

“Narrowly targeting specific organizations to gain or lose such tax exemptions sets an inappropriate precedent,” Youngkin said. 

He argued for broader reform that would give local governments greater autonomy to determine tax exemptions based on their specific tax base and needs. The governor also criticized the shift in the legislative process that now allows a simple majority to revoke exemptions, saying it undermines fairness in the tax system.

Askew, however, said during the news conference that groups like the UDC should be treated differently because they perpetuate the “lost cause” narrative, which he argued romanticizes the Confederacy and obscures the true cause of the Civil War.

“Let’s be very clear about what we’re dealing with. Organizations like the United Daughters of the Confederacy have promoted the lost cause,” Askew said. “Why is the commonwealth supporting groups that rewrite history to obscure the true cause of the Civil War? A war fought to uphold the institution of slavery, America’s original sin?”

History or oppression?

The debate over Confederate memory has divided Virginia politics for decades, and this year is no different. While Democrats champion legislation to curtail state support for Confederate-linked groups, Republicans have introduced bills to bolster protections for Confederate monuments. 

HB 1884, introduced this year by Del. Wren Williams, R-Patrick, aims to restrict local governments’ ability to remove or alter war memorials, including those commemorating Confederate figures.

Williams framed his proposal as a response to what he described as selective erasure of history. In an interview last week, he said his concern extended beyond the removal of statues to efforts to “re-contextualize everything” and exclude certain parts of the past.

“There seems to be a revenge-type of mentality,” Williams said. 

“The word ‘vindictive’ comes to mind because this is still history, but we’re picking which history we want to remember.” He argued that preserving all aspects of history, even the difficult ones, is essential, adding, “I think that we need to remember all history, and so this ties into that.”

While Williams views the preservation of monuments and historical context as a necessary acknowledgment of all aspects of history, Askew sees such efforts as perpetuating a false narrative that continues to glorify a cause rooted in oppression.

“It breaks my heart that in this year, 2025, we’re still having the same debate,” Askew said at the news conference. 

“House Republicans introduced a bill to protect Confederate monuments when in fact there are commemorations of Confederate history everywhere we look. You encounter it right here in our capitol, you see it visiting the historical sites across the commonwealth, including buildings that were once used in universities as Confederate hospitals.” 

Scrutiny over historic role, tax status 

Founded in 1894 to assist Civil War veterans and their families, the UDC, a national service organization with 12,000 members, including 1,700 in Virginia, is headquartered in Richmond. The group operates from a historic building visited by about 500 people annually and employs four staff members living in the Richmond area.

Though the UDC describes itself as a historical and educational organization, it has faced widespread criticism for its role in constructing Confederate monuments throughout the South and promoting a revisionist narrative of the Civil War, which it refers to as “The War Between the States.”

According to its 2022 tax filings, the UDC reported $10.4 million in net assets and an annual income of $157,988, with the Virginia branch alone holding $2.1 million in assets and generating $147,897 in income.

After Askew’s bill cleared the House Finance Committee on Monday in a 12-10 party-line vote, passing without discussion or opposition, UDC President Julie Hardaway, who resides in South Carolina, reached out to The Mercury by email the next day, claiming that she had attempted to voice her opposition to the bill virtually but was “denied that opportunity.”

Committee Chair Vivian Watts, D-Fairfax, refuted the claim, stating, “It was on the public docket, posted more than 24 hours in advance, and when the bill came up, I asked for comment, paused, looked around, no one was there to testify. And I did not receive any information that anyone had registered for virtual comment.”

In a statement on the UDC’s website, Hardaway condemned Askew’s proposal as discriminatory and unconstitutional. She argued the bill unfairly targets Confederate organizations, stripping their tax-exempt status while other groups remain protected under Article X, Section 6 of the Virginia Constitution, which grants exemptions for property used for historical and cultural purposes.

“This is viewpoint discrimination,” Hardaway said, pointing out that the UDC’s tax-exempt status, granted in 1950 for property deeded to it by the state, aligns with these constitutional protections. She warned that passing the bill could set a precedent for other historical organizations to lose their exemptions and open the door to legal challenges.

“For these reasons, the UDC strongly opposes Virginia House Bill 1699 and believes that Confederate organizations have been targeted with a bill aimed at organizations the party in power deems unworthy,” Hardaway said. 

Exposing hidden Confederate ties

But Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, chairman of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, signaled that Democrats are preparing a slate of new legislative efforts aimed at addressing the legacy of Confederate-affiliated organizations like the UDC.

“We have a number of pieces of legislation, as well as packages that we are planning to roll out in the coming days and weeks as we are here to make sure that the voices of Virginians are heard, particularly Black Virginians,” Bagby said, adding that the proposals will focus on issues of equity and history.

He emphasized the importance of learning from the past rather than erasing it. 

“When we turn the page, we don’t want to tear those pages and forget about it. We want to move on, but we also want to be able to reflect and understand the past,” he said.

House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, suggested that the organizations targeted by Askew’s proposal are just the tip of the iceberg in a much broader effort. 

Scott noted during last week’s news conference that while groups like the UDC are prominent and well-known, lawmakers are committed to identifying others that may be operating under less visible names or structures.

“There are so many of these organizations in Virginia. This is the former capital of the Confederacy,” Scott said. “We have more monuments and roads named after the Confederacy than any other state in the union.” He likened the effort to “catching racquetballs,” acknowledging the challenge of identifying every group tied to the Confederate legacy.

Scott encouraged Virginians to assist in uncovering lesser-known organizations that may be hiding under different names or tax-exempt entities. 

“We’ve got the ones we can catch, but if you got some that you wanna add to the list, feel free to send them to [Askew]. We will find them,” he said.

He also accused some groups of deliberately obscuring their ties to Confederate history. 

“They have done a very good job of camouflaging the whole idea around the War Between the States,” Scott said. “If you have someone that they’ve hidden away under some different names or some different way, let us know, because we want all of them.”

Askew remains steadfast in his push to strip tax exemptions from Confederate-affiliated organizations, even as he acknowledges the steep challenges ahead. 

He said he was surprised when Youngkin vetoed Williams Graves’ similar proposal last year and expressed little hope that the governor would support his version this time around.

“I don’t expect the governor to change his mind or pass this bill this year,” Askew said. “But I do promise you that when his term ends, we’ll bring this bill back. We’ll work with the next administration to assure our history is told truthfully, not rewritten to serve the interests of those who seek to glorify the Confederates.”

Askew emphasized the importance of holding lawmakers accountable on this issue, framing it as a moral test for Virginia’s leadership. He called on those running for statewide office to take a clear stance on whether they support or oppose such measures.

“Virginia deserves to know where their leaders stand. Those running for statewide office here this year must make their resistance clear. No ambiguity, no dodging these questions,” he said.

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