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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington (Jan. 31, 2018) -- National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt today sent a letterto Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, in response to his letter to National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Chairman J. Mark McWatters. Chairman Hatch, in his letter, questioned the validity of the credit unions' federal tax exemption.

"The credit union tax exemption has long provided tremendous value to credit union members and the overall economy of the United States," said Hunt's letter. "An independent study of the benefits of the exemption found that it provides a $16 billion per year benefit to the U.S. economy. Removing the tax exemption would prove detrimental to the economy over the next 10 years through: $38 billion in lost income tax revenue, $142 billion in reduced GDP, and the elimination of nearly 900,000 jobs."

Hunt's letter also goes on to reiterate NAFCU's belief that credit unions are best regulated by an independent NCUA and that the NCUA's rules and regulations are legal and in accordance with the Federal Credit Union Act.

When it comes to defending the credit union tax exemption, NAFCU has been advocating for its preservation for decades, most recently on Capitol Hill during the tax reform legislative process. In a 2017op-ed to U.S. News & World Report, NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long detailed the benefits of the tax exemption, pushing back on critics claiming the exemption is outdated.

Earlier this year, NAFCU unveiled its 2018 advocacy prioritiesand identified maintaining an independent and transparent NCUA as one of its key focuses in the year ahead.

For the full text of Hunt's letter, please click here.

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