After trying last year, Del. Alex Askew feels optimistic that his bill removing tax exemptions for Confederate groups will be signed into law this year.
“They help glorify the Confederacy and essentially, I believe, have whitewashed the commonwealth’s history,” Askew said of the groups. “It’s truthfully time to move forward.”
Democratic lawmakers have talked about removing property and other tax relief for organizations such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) multiple years. Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin twice vetoed bills that would do so, including one introduced by Askew in 2025.
But 2026 looks more promising for Askew’s bill after the November election put Democrats in control of Virginia’s executive and legislative branches. It may, however, face a challenge from another government branch — the courts.
House Bill 167 proposes to remove the carve-outs for the UDC and its Virginia chapter as well as the Confederate Memorial Literary Society, Stonewall Jackson Memorial, J.E.B. Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust and the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The exemptions were introduced in 1950, part of a wave of resistance to racial integration and civil rights efforts in the commonwealth.
Virginia Public Media reports the tax bill for the UDC could surpass $50,000 annually. The UDC, in its most recent 2024 tax filings, reported assets nearing $14 million and net income exceeding $1 million; the Virginia chapter reported $2.25 million in assets, though its net income was $70,871.
A University of Virginia law scholar told Virginia Public Radio in 2025 that the bill was likely unconstitutional. The view is shared by the UDC, which called the effort targeted discrimination.
Askew, though, doesn’t think so and insists the proposal isn’t about punishing the organizations or taking away their right to exist and own property in the state.
“We’re just asking them to pay their fair share, pay their taxes,” he said. “We can use these dollars to help fund some of our schools, particularly in Richmond,” where the UDC headquarters is located.
Askew, however, questions whether it is equitable for Virginia to be “rewarding” organizations that perpetuate narratives reframing the Civil War as a battle over states’ rights rather than one to end slavery, and that have erected Confederate monuments.
“These things are put in place to show African Americans and certain individuals, certain communities, that they were second-class citizens,” Askew said of the monuments.
UDC President General Julie Hardaway, in a statement on the group’s website, said the organization rejects white supremacy and is focused on Confederate soldiers’ service, not their government.
“Stripping tax exemptions from specific organizations sets a dangerous precedent, and threatens the integrity of charitable, religious and historical groups across our state and nation,” she wrote.
Askew, though, believes the bill helps foster a more inclusive and progressive Virginia.
“It’s about moving forward from our dark past that our commonwealth has had.”
The UDC and James City Cavalry Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp did not respond to emailed requests for comment by the time of publication.
