Senate Finance Chairman Hatch Says CU tax exemption may be outdated

by David Baumann, CU Times

The powerful chairman of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee is questioning whether credit unions still deserve their tax-exempt status.

“I am concerned that the credit union industry is evolving in ways that take many credit unions further from their original tax-exempt status,” Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), said in a letter Wednesday to NCUA board Chairman J. Mark McWatters.

Hatch said that the NCUA has relaxed field-of-membership constraints, opened the door to the use of alternative capital and lifted limits on business lending.

“While these may be worthwhile pursuits, they should give us pause and cause a reflection on the core mission of credit unions and their tax-exempt status,” Hatch wrote.

 

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