Following first acquisition in Montana, ICBA continues call for credit union tax

With the latest interstate acquisition of a tax-paying community bank by tax-exempt credit unions extending into Montana, ICBA said it is time for the increasing criticism of credit union tax and regulatory exemptions to finally result in policymaker action.

Details: In a national news release, ICBA said:

• Credit unions continue to stray far beyond their congressional mandate of serving people of modest means with a defined field of membership.

• Recent ICBA polling conducted by Morning Consult found that 62% of adults say credit unions that operate like banks should have to pay taxes like banks.

Latest Media Coverage:

• CUToday reported that more credit unions are considering converting to mutual banks as the result of the increased threat to their tax status.

• CU Daily wrote that some in the credit union industry are concerned about the policy impact of a proposed merger of two $9 billion credit unions.

• Banking Dive spotlighted ICBA’s calls for policymakers to end the tax exemption for credit unions over $1 billion in assets.

ICBA Advocacy: ICBA’s “Repair, Reform, and Thrive” plan and open letter to the 119th Congress urge lawmakers to use the current debate over tax reform to address credit unions’ tax and regulatory advantages. Further, a policy resolution that ICBA introduced earlier this year formally calls on policymakers to end the federal tax exemption for credit unions with $1 billion or more in assets or to establish tax parity between credit unions and tax-paying community banks.

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