A bipartisan group of 36 House members wrote to House Ways and Means Committee leaders Friday urging the committee to protect the credit union tax status. Recognizing credit unions as a critical resource for families, farmers, and small businesses, the legislators also highlighted credit unions’ cooperative structure, member-centric focus, and focus on local relationships and lending. Twenty Republicans joined with sixteen Democrats on the letter, which was led by Representatives Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., and Seth Magaziner, D, R.I.

“Any changes to the current tax treatment of credit unions would threaten these consumer benefits and would be a tax increase on America’s 142 million credit union members,” they wrote. “As Congress seeks to implement tax policies that will help everyday working Americans, protecting the credit union tax exemption should be on that list.”

The group also cited the independent study commissioned by America’s Credit Unions that shows credit unions provide over $36 billion in economic benefits to American consumers annually in the form of lower loan rates, higher interest payments, and lower fees.  

America’s Credit Unions continues to urge stakeholders to activate staff, boards, and members to contact their elected officials in support of the tax status using the Don’t Tax My Credit Union website.  Congress has received more than 323,000 Don’t Tax My Credit Union messages as of this weekend.