Educating the CU Difference Never Ends…Nor Does the Fight to Protect it!
Posted by Ryan Fitzgerald on October 31, 2024

Last week at the American Bankers Association Annual Conference in New York, Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24) outlined that as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee she would be interested in holding hearings on what she coined as “…the disparity in regulatory oversight and tax burdens that exist between banks and credit unions.”
Continuing on in her presentation to bankers in the audience, she suggested that having a public debate with experts, before the House Ways and Means Committee, could help illustrate the perceived disparity that she believes exists. As a former corporate attorney for some of the larger banks in New York she took this opportunity to provide some intense “red meat” rhetoric to her former colleagues in the inner circle of the “big bank” community. Although this is an old and tiring argument, it can influence new and less informed members of Congress and state legislators when it is touted by an influential member of a very important committee.
As you begin to ponder the blog headline, you envision GoWest’s Troy Stang continually outlining the “S-V-I” mantra that leads many of our meetings as well as messaging to our elected leaders and regulators. It is the cooperative, not-for-profit STRUCTURE, that provides tangible VALUE to credit union members, which makes an IMPACT in individual financial lives and within the communities where members live. This messaging has not, and cannot change, especially when we prepare for a group of new leaders in the White House, in the Halls of Congress, and in our state capitols across the GoWest footprint. Credit unions’ structure and the value and impact it enables is exactly what determines the tax exemptions they have, and the taxes they do pay.
There is no “disparity” between bank and credit union regulations and taxations, because they are not structured the same. Banks are structured to make profits for their stockholders; credit unions are structured to deliver value back to their member-owners. It’s that simple. It’s not always that simple getting policymakers to understand the credit union difference, and that’s precisely why it’s so important that we as a movement never let up in our consistent drum beat of messaging that difference.
As we have discussed with GoWest credit union advocates, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that was passed during the first Trump Administration will be expiring in 2025. Congress has already initiated tax work groups and the development of a new tax package that will outline how best to utilize the revenue from the expiring tax cuts and/or how best to implement new tax cuts that will benefit specific groups of Americans as the 119th Congress kicks off in January. During recent visits to Capitol Hill and at in-district meet ‘n’ greets, GoWest credit unions have repeatedly messaged the importance of the credit union tax exemption and asked members of Congress for their help in protecting our structure; however, these comments by a member of the tax setting committee in the House showcases the need for diligence and preparations for a potential taxation battle in the next year.
Thank you to GoWest credit unions who worked with us to complete the background data that will be the base structure for Oxford Economics as they prepare the 2025 GoWest Credit Union Economic and Community Impact Reports, which will showcase the strong commitment you have to the financial well-being of your members and the communities you serve. As we look to 2025, we will use this information as a foundation to outline that the credit union difference is alive and well and showcased by the ongoing commitment to providing financial services to each and every consumer in our nation. Whether serving rural or underserved individuals, acting as the first line of defense against fraud, lifting up small businesses through access to credit or finding real solutions to housing affordability, credit unions are the leaders in community and relational financial services.
The words and actions of Rep. Tenney, and other opponents, should further deepen our resolve to continuously educate elected officials across each of our communities and to outline the true nature of the credit union movement. As GoWest credit unions, we need to continue telling our story and showcasing the work of our collective membership.
Be on the lookout for calls to action and sign-on letters that can be presented to Congress on critical issues that will come before Congress this year and next. If you are interested in getting more involved in the credit union “drumbeat”, sign-up for the next advocacy training, attend Credit Union Day at the Capitol in your state, and plan to join the GoWest team in Washington, DC at one of the 2025 Hike the Hill events or the ACU National GAC. Only together can we land the collective messaging around the Credit Union Difference!
Posted in Advocacy on the Move, Federal Advocacy.