ARLINGTON, Va.–Many in credit unions are as happy about what was not in the new Inflation Reduction Act now before President Biden as they are about what is.
The bill does have funding for new positions with the Internal Revenue Service. But the 730-page bill, $430-billion bill does not include language that would require credit unions and other financial institutions to comply with any new IRS-reporting requirements, such as the earlier proposal that FIs report all transactions of more than $600 each to the IRS.
That language, noted NAFCU VP-Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler, had been “problematic” in the past.
“That was a positive,” said Thaler, “Obviously, we’ll see where the increased funding is for the IRS. We do not want it to have an impact on financial institutions and to create new burdens there. We feel we should be in good shape. Some of the spending will have economic impacts in communities where credit unions are, but nothing with a direct impact. But we will be watching things.”
During a call with the media, a CUNA Hill lobbyist expressed similar satisfaction that the IRS reporting requirements are not included in the bill.
How to Sift Through Big Bills
How does NAFCU sift through big pieces of legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act to see where the effects on credit unions might lie?
“We read through it. We read summaries and news reports,” he said. “We identify different areas that could be of interest and then go deeper in there. There are multiple steps we take in going through it to see the impact.”