Oct. 19, 2012 – The New York Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a 5-1 ruling that holds that mortgage recording tax paid by Hudson Valley FCU is not tax from which federal credit unions are exempt under the Federal Credit Union Act.
The dissenting opinion in that ruling cites a Supreme Court (state-level) decision in asserting that the federal credit union exemption may be read to bar the recording tax because it is a broad tax exemption that offers no exceptions.
NAFCU filed a motion and amicus brief supporting Hudson Valley, which initiated its challenge in 2009. “We are very disappointed that the court ruled against Hudson Valley,” said Carrie Hunt, NAFCU’s general counsel and vice president of regulatory affairs. “NAFCU will remain vigilant in protecting the credit union federal tax exemption.”