In an op-ed published on the Inside Indiana Business website yesterday, Indiana Bankers Association President and CEO Amber Van Til pushed back against several erroneous assertions often made by the credit union industry about the need for the credit union tax exemption, including the claim that credit unions are mostly small, humble institutions serving customers of limited means.
Van Til pointed out that the credit union industry has long since strayed from its mission to serve primarily low- and middle-income families; in fact, credit union members on average earn higher incomes than bank customers, according to a study conducted by the Government Accountability Office, she noted. She added that at the end of 2017, there were 287 credit unions with $1 billion or more than assets, which together controlled 64 percent of the total assets of the credit union industry.
“In the end, the issue of whether credit unions should pay federal taxes comes down to what is best for consumers, and the answer to that is in the numbers,” Van Til wrote. “According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, some $2.9 billion annually would go to treasury if credit unions paid their fair share.” She added that this much-needed revenue could help lower the federal deficit.
