WASHINGTON–The Senate Finance Committee has released its tax provisions for the huge budget reconciliation bill before the upper house without any language related to the credit union tax exemption.

As the CU Daily has been reporting, the banking industry trade groups have been urging Congress to revoke the credit union tax exemption as a means to offset the cost of the bill, which includes an extension of tax cuts put in place in 2017 when President Trump was in his first term.

The credit union trade groups have been actively working to lobby both the House and the Senate—including America’s Credit Unions’ “Don’t Tax My Credit Union” campaign, which it said generated more than 850,000 messages to Congress– to not include any language related to the tax exemption, which has been in place for federal credit unions since 1937.

‘Tremendous Impact’

“America’s Credit Unions, leagues, credit unions, and the 142 million consumers our industry serves thank Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo for understanding the credit union difference and protecting the credit union tax status in H.R. 1,” said America’s Credit Unions President and CEO Jim Nussle in a statement. “Credit unions have tremendous impact on Main Streets across the country and work every day to strengthen our communities and people’s lives. We appreciate the Senate Finance Committee’s support and will continue to keep the momentum until the bill is sent to the President’s desk.”  – Jim Nussle, America’s Credit Unions President/CEO

 ‘Remain Vigilant’

Added Tony Hernandez, president and CEO of the Defense Credit Union Council, in a statement, “We are thankful that the Senate has recognized the value credit unions provide to their communities by preserving our tax-exempt status. We will remain vigilant and continue monitoring the legislative process closely to ensure the credit union mission and impact is supported on behalf of America’s communities across the nation and overseas.”