Senator Abraham Ribicoff (D. Conn.) has accused the U.S. Treasury Department of having both “failed to implement” and “seriously undermined” the anti-Arab boycott provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1976.
Ribicoff was the principal author of the legislation that prevents U.S. firms from receiving tax benefits related to their overseas trade if the firms participate in the boycott. The Treasury Department on Nov. 4 issued “proposed guidelines” interpreting the anti-boycott measures. Ribicoff attacked the guidelines in a letter Dec. 7 to. Treasury Secretary William Simon which he made public today. He sent a copy to President Ford.
The guidelines provide information on how American companies can participate in the boycott and, at the same time, continue to take the tax benefits, Ribicoff charged. He said the guidelines “are an affront to the Congress, the President and his administration, and a disservice to the Treasury Department.”
In his letter, Ribicoff recalled that Ford, on signing the legislation said that it “would prevent companies in the United States from taking a tax deduction if they have in any way whatsoever cooperated with the Arab boycott.”
Ribicoff also criticized Assistant Secretary Gerald Parsky whom he described as a “leading opponent” of two anti-boycott legislation Parsky, the Senator wrote, had kept up his opposition even after Ford had signed the measure by playing a major role in the writing of the guidelines.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
