Berger Refutes Group On Credit Unions Exemption
NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs Dan Berger called out The Tax Foundation Thursday for suggesting that eliminating credit unions’ tax-exempt status is among the “least worst options” for tax reform.
The foundation makes a number of errors in its treatment of credit unions. For example, it characterizes them in one section of its report as “federally owned” when they are not-for-profit cooperatives owned by their members. Berger adds that it misses the mark in suggesting that the credit union exemption costs the government billions in lost revenue each year.
A report last year by the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction shows the value of the exemption is not equal to the estimated revenue effect of eliminating it, Berger wrote. He added that a 2010 Senate Budget Committee-sought report from the Congressional Research Service said actual revenue lost due to the exemption would amount to about $500 million in fiscal 2013, not the $2 billion-$3 billion estimated by the foundation.
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