The National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) has sent letters to every member on the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees to “strongly encourage” the federal tax policy makers to “advocate for the retention of the credit union tax exemption during your deliberations on tax reform.”

NCBA President/CEO Michael Beall wrote, “As not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperatives, credit unions return almost all of their earnings to their member-owners. Whether this is in the form of better rates on savings and loans, lower fees, or generally better services, this is a real-world example of how credit unions use the tax exemption to make a difference in the financial lives of their members.

“In addition, the credit union presence in the financial marketplace demonstrably benefits non-members as well, by providing marketplace competition and enhanced consumer choice.

“Studies have shown that credit unions provide over $10 billion annually in benefits to members and non-members, an amount that far exceeds the Joint Committee on Taxation estimate of $500 million that a tax on credit unions would generate.”

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