WASHINGTON—Despite heavy lobbying, a proposal requiring new reporting to the Internal Revenue Service that is strongly opposed by credit unions and other financial services organizations will remain in the final version of a House reconciliation bill, according to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
In a message to state league presidents following Pelosi’s statement, CUNA called for a “redoubling” of efforts to “deliver a strong message is fundamentally flawed.”
As CUToday.info has been reporting, the Biden Administration is proposing financial institutions report to the IRS on all annual inflows and outflows of more than $600 for all business and personal accounts, as well as transfers between accounts of the same owner. In August, the Senate rejected by a one-vote margin an amendment that would have blocked the reporting requirement.
CUNA has been joined by NAFCU, state leagues and other organizations in pushing back hard against the proposal, citing increased regulatory burden.
“The proposal at any threshold is fundamentally flawed and unnecessarily puts consumers and their data at risk. Credit union members across the country have led the call for Congress to abandon this idea,” said Ryan Donovan, CUNA chief advocacy officer. “Their concern is shared by Americans of every walk of life. We are disappointed that Congress continues to have this on the table.”
Burden on Small CUs
Both CU trade groups have said they are especially concerned with the increased burden on smaller credit unions, and are also worried about security concerns with increased government data collection and storage.
CUNA issued an action alert calling on credit unions to send their concerns to Capitol Hill using its Grassroots Action Center and reported that nearly 500,000 messages have been sent as of this week.