As Congress returns to Washington to continue work on tax reform, more than 150,000 messages have been sent to lawmakers urging them to preserve credit unions’ tax status. This effort is part of the ‘Don’t Tax My Credit Union’ grassroots campaign coordinated through America’s Credit Unions.

The MD|DC Credit Union Association remains actively engaged with lawmakers to protect credit unions. All members of the Maryland, Delaware and DC congressional delegations continue to indicate they do not support a change to the credit union tax status.

A recently released independent study by Dr. Robert Feinberg of American University and Dr. Douglas Meade of Interindustry Economic Research Fund Inc., highlights the significant economic benefits of credit union tax status for both consumers and the broader economy. Commissioned by America’s Credit Unions, the study warns that eliminating the tax exemption would raise costs for both credit union and bank consumers.

Key findings:

• Removing the credit union tax exemption would cost the federal government $33 billion in lost income tax revenue over the next 10 years.
• GDP would be reduced by $266 billion, and 822,000 jobs would be lost over the next decade as well
• A 50% reduction in the credit union market share would cost bank customers an estimated $11.9 billion to $22.8 billion per year in higher loan rates and lower deposit rates.

How your credit union can take action:

• Your credit union can send a letter to the member(s) of Congress who represent the communities you serve. Please reach out to the Association if you need contact information or guidance.
• Encourage your board, management and staff to submit a pre-written message and/or add your own story via Don’t Tax my Credit Union.
• If you feel comfortable activating your membership, add a link to Don’t Tax My Credit Union to your website. Here are a few examples:
  • Goldenwest Credit Union
  • Granite Credit Union
  • America First Credit Union

If you have any questions, please reach out to our VP of Advocacy Rory Murray at rmurray@mddccua.org