WASHINGTON—Thirty-six members of congress Friday urged the House Ways & Means Committee leaders to protect CU tax status.
The effort was led by led by America's Credit Unions and the leagues, ACU said.
“We are writing to urge you to protect tax-exempt status of credit unions as Congress considers tax reform and extending expiring provisions from the Tax Credits and Jobs Act. As you are aware, credit unions are member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperatives that are a critical resource for the families, farmers, and small businesses in our districts,” the group wrote.
They emphasized that credit unions provide “safe and sound” lending opportunities for their members with competitive rates on savings accounts, loans, and other financial products.
“The cooperative structure and member-centric focus of a credit union is the same, regardless of the size of the institution, large or small. Their focus on local lending and community development results in close-knit relationships with those they serve. These local relationships are at the heart of what it means to be a credit union,” the letter states.
The group pointed out credit unions provide economic benefits to their members.
“Studies have shown that credit unions provide over $36 billion in economic benefit to American consumers annually in the form of lower loan rates, higher interest payments, and lower fees. Any changes to the current tax treatment of credit unions would threaten these consumer benefits and would be a tax increase on America’s 142 million credit union members,” the group wrote. “As Congress seeks to implement tax policies that will help everyday working Americans, protecting the credit union tax exemption should be on that list. We urge you to protect the tax-exempt status of credit unions as you consider issues related to tax reform.”