'HAWK' GROUP GETS TAX BREAK

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP73-00475R000100180001-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 17, 2013
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: March 4, 1966
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/12/17: CIA-RDP73-00475R000100180001-7
v ..PA %. ? 1 '4 ? la%
? MAR 41956
CLAYTON RITCHEY
'Hawk' G.T1.7 3
Contributions to promote the
? "Hawk" position in the Viet
Nam war are tax deductible,
but, as this column discovered,
today, contributions to support
. ? the "Dove" position are not.
This in essence is the stand
. the Internal Revenue Service
has chosen to take in the
bitter political debate now
going on over U.S. policy on
Viet Nam. The IRS, in effect,
; has intervened on the side of
'. the administration.
, The Internal Revenue Code
: expressly prohibits tax ex-
emption for "action" groups
that "substantially" engage in
political activity, especially
where legislation might be
influenced. And the present
Congress, of course, is loaded
with legislation related to Viet
? Nam.
The new IRS ruling revolves
around a group called Affir-
? mation: Vietnam, organized
.to promote a nationwide
? series of rallies in support of
American involvement in Via
? ; Nam. ?
? Student leaders of the three-
month-old organization, based
at Emory University .in
. Atlanta, already claim aifiii- on Dec. 14, and the ruling was
..? ate branches on 54 Georgia issued Dec. 21. Officials at
campuses. Several weeks ago . IRS have also confirmed to
'. they staged a large rally at t h i g correspondent that
the 'Atlanta Stadium, which "someone" from the vice
? was addressed by Secretary ? president's office did tele-
of State Dean Rusk. Also, , phone in behalf of the applica-
: with the help of its tax ruling?, tion, but there is no record of ?
.. Affirmation:. Viet Nam, has ?? the conversation. The IRS
i ?
' been able to raise $60,000 n .officials say the call had .
'. contributions. All but one of nothing to do with the l' ?
' Atlanta's banks, for instance,' that so quickly followed. .. peace. It has not confined
? ; donated $1,000 each. ? It is not unusual for some itself to Viet Nam as the
' Here are thecritical ques- ,. applications to get prompt Atlanta group has. '
-lions raised by this IRS . rulings if they are 100 percent,:, Nevertheless,' the ' Peace
! ruling: ? : ' charitable or educational and Association has tried in vain.
); 1?Why was Affirmation: have no political tinge. Dis-'" to get a favorable ruling. The'
:?Viet Nam able to get an , trict offices can give rulings 'answer is always the same?,
.,exemption that ordinarily is ' to "pure" groups, (like the ' the, case ? is being ?"studied.",.
? :granted only to organizations" Red. Cross,. for . example)
. -. . .,',...,',x/.1 ? .../..
I, ,1,,boril.? ,a, ,,,,
Tc?f Lieak
primarily engaged in charita-
ble and educational work?
2?Why has the IRS de-
clined to grant similar status
to groups with a different
point of view on the war?
3?How did Affirmation:
Viet Nam not only obtain a
without consulting Washing-
'. ,
ton.
In other cases, however,
'where political activity may
he involved, the application
must be forwarded to Wash-
ington for review. Tax law-
yers familiar with IRS prac-
favorable rk.ag, but obtain it tices say that it often takes
in record or near record time, months, even years, to get a
for an application of this . ruling in these eircurances. ?
nature? Officials at IRS say that'
The answer to the last . 'Affirmation: Viet Nam got
question centers on Remar M.'" virtually instant approval
Sutton Jr., an Emory senior, because the application
who is general chairman of presented "no special prob-
Affirmation: Viet Nam. Sutton lem."
flew to Washington and called ? It ig true 'thatati?
on aides to President Johnson, ? Viet Nam ?ke all pe loners
Vice President Hubert
self exclusively
phrey and Rusk. He also
visited the IRS, where he was
told that such tax exempt
applications usually take a
?
minimum of 30 to 90 days to
procesg.
, Not satisfied with this,
Sutton, as he told the New
York Times, called "a colonel
?I can't remember his name
the vice president's office
. . . After that we got tax
: ?
? exempt status within a week."
The records at IRS show
that the application was filed '
"charitable and educational"
in applying to the district IRS
chief at Atlanta, but it is
significant that he felt obliged
to forward it to Washington
for action. '
Eighteen months ago, the
Washington Peace Center in
the nation's capital filed a
similar application for tax
exemption, but after all this
time it has neither been
processed nor granted.
? The Peace Center is a much
older organization than Affir-
mation: Viet Nam. It was
organized in 1033, and, like
the Atlanta group, described
itself as a "charitable and
educational" association. On
the basis of its record it would
appear to have a superior,
certainly equal, claim to tax
exemption, for it has been
conducting a broad education-
al program on all phases of
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/12/17 : CIA-RDP73-00475R000100180001-7