Newsroom
Berger fights for CU exemption
 | |
| Dan Berger |
Feb. 7, 2013 – NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs Dan Berger emailed members of Congress Wednesday morning in an ongoing effort to ensure they have the real facts on the credit union federal tax exemption.
The American Bankers Association sent their own email to lawmakers earlieron Wednesday repeating their distortions circulated last week – and which NAFCU refuted – about credit unions and the taxes they pay. "Credit unions did not contribute to the financial crisis and are proud of their track record in serving Main Street America," Berger wrote in today's email.
"We want to set the record straight," he wrote. And he does that with the following facts:
- Credit unions do pay many taxes, such as property taxes, payroll taxes, Medicare, etc.
- Nearly one-third of banks have "Subchapter S" status under the federal tax code. That means they don't pay federal corporate income taxes. This break is worth billions to the bankers.
- Eliminating the credit union tax exemption would have dire economic consequences, leadingto the loss of 1.5 million jobs over the next decade, shrinking GDP and a net revenue loss for the federal government.
That last item – the cost of cutting the credit union exemption – is based on results of NAFCU's landmark study last year of the economic impact of the credit union federal income tax exemption. Berger is urging credit unions to use the study and share its contents with their senators and representatives as well.
In related news, the House, voting 75-348, on Wednesday rejected a legislative amendment that would have forced President Obamato follow the "Bowles-Simpson" deficit-reduction plan in his own outline of deficit-reduction steps. NAFCU has long cautioned against this given that the plan suggests eliminating all federal tax expenditures, which by definition include the credit union tax exemption.