WASHINGTON—The credit union tax exemption has survived the House tax bill, and now the Senate Finance Committee’s version of the legislation.
The Senate Finance Committee voted the chamber's tax bill out of committee Thursday last night after considering a number of amendments throughout the week; none impacted credit unions' tax status, NAFCU reported.
The full Senate is expected to vote on the bill the week after Thanksgiving.
"NAFCU is pleased that the credit union tax exemption has gone untouched as both the House and Senate work to reform the nation's tax code," said NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger. "We remain vigilant in protecting the industry's tax exemption."
Separately, Berger sent an email to the association's members Thursday requesting their support to defend the industry's tax-exempt status at the local level – despite CU’s fortunes in Washington.
"Together, we will continue to defend credit unions and ensure our communities and economy continue to benefit from your good work as well," Berger wrote in the email.
NAFCU said that Berger's message was sent in light of recent attacks on credit unions' tax-exempt status by members of the banking industry. In the email, Berger pointed members to an independent tax study released by NAFCU earlier this year that found the credit union tax exemption benefits $16 billion to the U.S. economy each year.
Berger wrote an op-ed last week in CUToday.info
http://www.cutoday.info/THE-tude/When-It-Comes-To-Jobs-And-Economic-Growth-The-Credit-Union-Tax-Exemption-Delivers
to defend the credit union tax exemption and its many benefits. In his email, he encouraged credit union representatives to respond with their own op-ed if anti-credit union exemption comments appeared in their local news publications.