CUNA corrects false banker attack in Wall Street Journal

CUNA and credit unions responded to the latest banker attack in the Wall Street Journal Thursday, with CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle leading the response letters to the editor. Nussle responded to claims by a Florida banking association on credit unions’ tax status.

“Critics of the credit union tax status say credit unions use a tax advantage to create a stranglehold on the market, a claim that is patently false. While credit unions were established to provide many of the same services as banks, their tax status has always been about the structure and mission of credit unions; it has never been about the size or powers of credit unions,” Nussle wrote. “A credit union’s growth is a key indicator that it is doing exactly what Congress intended when it established their tax status: it is successfully serving its members.

If the banking lobbyists had their way and credit unions were taxed, the consequences for consumers would be detrimental; for the government would be inconsequential; and for bankers would be a windfall,” Nussle’s letter adds. “It isn’t hard to see why the bank lobbyists continue their quixotic bid to get Congress to tax credit unions. It’s equally easy to see why that would be a bad deal for everyone but the banks they represent.”

 

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