WASHINGTON--Before the American Bankers Association’s annual Washington Summit began this week, America’s Credit Unions sent a letter to lawmakers spelling out the key differences between credit unions and banks.
ACU Chief Advocacy Officer Carrie Hunt provided data and facts countering banker lobbying efforts to tax credit unions, including:
- Credit unions’ not-for-profit structure that allows them to focus on Main Street—not Wall Street, like banks
- The current credit union tax status generates $27.5 billion in direct benefits and $38.3 billion in total benefits for consumers, representing a 1,300% return on the government’s investment
- Banks, who have received trillions in government bailouts, received tax cuts in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that will cost the government $40-50 billion a year over a decade
- 1,450 banks enjoy Subchapter S status—which exempts them from paying federal income taxes—and funnel money to investors, not their customers or communities
She also noted banks hold 91.2% market share of total assets—a near-monopoly position.
“When bankers come in and ask you to tax credit unions, we urge you to ask them to address some of these points,” wrote Hunt. “We urge you to see past their red-herring arguments and think about what is really going on here: Banks have received hundreds of billions of dollars in tax benefits but don’t put that toward helping working families.”