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NAFCU reminded Senate Finance Committee leaders on Monday of the economic value the credit union tax exemption provides to the entire economy – estimated at more than $16 billion per year – ahead of hearing today on the corporate tax code.

"Credit unions, being member-owned cooperatives offering and providing basic financial service products in local communities, are proud of their track record in meeting the needs of nearly 110 million members and being a stable capital source to our nation's small businesses," wrote NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler in a letter Monday to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

Thaler highlighted an independent tax study released by NAFCU earlier this year that shows altering the tax status of credit unions "would have a devastating impact not only credit union members … but also on consumers and small businesses." He added that eliminating the tax exemption would result in the loss of 900,000 jobs over the next decade, a shrinking of the gross domestic product and a net loss of revenue to the federal government.

"Without credit unions, the marketplace would be void of checks and balances … [and] for-profit banks would likely increase rates and fees on consumers," Thaler wrote. "Any effort to strip credit unions of their federal tax exemption will have a drastic and immediate negative impact on credit unions and their 110 million members who will ultimately bear the cost of any new tax imposed on credit unions."

Protecting credit unions' tax-exempt status remains a No. 1 priority for NAFCU.